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  • woomera
    woomera
    noun
    a notched stick used by Australian Aboriginal peoples to propel spears or darts.
  • Woomera
    Woomera
    noun
    a town in South Australia: site of the Long Range Weapons Establishment. Pop: 602 (2001)

woomera

American  
[woom-er-uh] / ˈwʊm ər ə /

noun

  1. a notched stick used by Australian Aboriginal peoples to propel spears or darts.


Woomera 1 British  
/ ˈwʊmərə /

noun

  1. a town in South Australia: site of the Long Range Weapons Establishment. Pop: 602 (2001)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

woomera 2 British  
/ ˈwʊmərə /

noun

  1. a type of notched stick used by native Australians to increase leverage and propulsion in the throwing of a spear

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of woomera

First recorded in 1810–20, woomera is from the Dharuk word wu-ma-ra


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Locals believe it portrays an Aboriginal man carrying a woomera - a throwing stick - in his left hand.

From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2018

They can hurl their spears with terrible effect for a hundred yards or more, with the assistance of the woomera, a piece of wood which is retained in the hand, and acts as a lever.

From Wild Adventures in Wild Places by Gordon Stables

The spear is thrown by means of a woomera which is a slight rod about three feet long having at one end a niche to receive the end of the spear.

From Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia, Volume 2 by Thomas Mitchell

He carried two spears, a woomera, and a boomerang, while an appliance for making fire hung at his belt.

From In the Musgrave Ranges by Conrad H. (Conrad Harvey) Sayce

At once every spear was raised, poised in the woomera, and directed, not at the white man, but at the native who had dared to pit his strength against a supernatural power.

From In the Musgrave Ranges by Conrad H. (Conrad Harvey) Sayce

This material will be packed into a small capsule that will return to Earth in 2031, landing in the Woomera desert of South Australia.

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026

Until now, the only British satellite-bearing rocket was launched from Woomera in Australia in 1971.

From New York Times ● Oct. 11, 2022

The launch site then was a military rocket range near Woomera in South Australia state.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 7, 2022

Whatever material is collected by the spacecraft will be stored onboard until Hayabusa 2 reaches its landing site in Woomera, South Australia, in 2020 after a journey of more than three billion miles.

From The Guardian ● Feb. 21, 2019

He moved awkwardly in his suit to finger a switch on his neck and I heard him speaking to the ground again, and heard in my earphones the answer that came up from Woomera.

From The Trouble with Telstar by John Schoenherr

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