Australia

[ aw-streyl-yuh ]
/ ɔˈstreɪl yə /

noun

a continent SE of Asia, between the Indian and the Pacific oceans. 2,948,366 sq. mi. (7,636,270 sq. km).
Commonwealth of, a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, consisting of the federated states and territories of Australia and Tasmania. 2,974,581 sq. mi. (7,704,165 sq. km). Capital: Canberra.

Example sentences from the Web for australia

British Dictionary definitions for australia

Australia
/ (ɒˈstreɪlɪə) /

noun

a country and the smallest continent, situated between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific: a former British colony, now an independent member of the Commonwealth, constitutional links with Britain formally abolished in 1986; consists chiefly of a low plateau, mostly arid in the west, with the basin of the Murray River and the Great Dividing Range in the east and the Great Barrier Reef off the NE coast. Official language: English. Religion: Christian majority. Currency: dollar. Capital: Canberra. Pop: 23 029 674 (2013 est). Area: 7 682 300 sq km (2 966 150 sq miles)

Cultural definitions for australia

Australia

Nation occupying the whole of Australia, the smallest continent, between the Indian Ocean and the southwest Pacific Ocean. Its capital is Canberra, and its largest city is Sydney.

notes for Australia

The first settlements there were penal colonies for British convicts.

notes for Australia

Its aboriginal tribes, which still exist today ( see aborigines), are thought to have migrated from Southeast Asia twenty thousand years ago.