australia

australia — noun

1. a country between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, made up of one huge island belo

1.nounA1
Definition

a country between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, made up of one huge island below Asia plus the smaller island of Tasmania, with Canberra as its capital and English as its main language.

Example

Xiomara spent a year backpacking across Australia, from Sydney to the red Outback deserts.

preposition: across Australia

Many people in Australia live near the coast because the centre is very dry.

preposition: in Australia

Common collocations
  • fly to Australia
  • live in Australia
  • across Australia
  • the coast of Australia
  • outback Australia
Synonyms
  • Down Under

    informal nickname, often used by speakers from Britain or North America

  • Oz

    very informal slang, mostly spoken; common among Australians and British people

Usage Note

Always capitalised as a proper noun; takes no article ('in Australia', not 'in the Australia'). The related adjective and demonym is 'Australian'.

Common Mistakes

She lives in the Australia.
She lives in Australia.
country names like Australia take no definite article.
He is an Australia.
He is an Australian.
for a person from this country, use the demonym 'Australian', not the country name.

Word family

  • Australian
    adjectiveA1
  • Australian
    nounA1
  • Aussie
    nounB2
  • Aussie
    adjectiveB2

Common collocations

Nouns

  • the coast of Australia
  • the people of Australia
  • the government of Australia

Phrases

  • made in Australia
  • born in Australia
  • travel around Australia

Prepositions

  • in Australia
  • to Australia
  • from Australia
  • across Australia

Etymology

LatinEnglish

From the Latin phrase 'terra australis incognita', meaning 'unknown southern land', a name that European geographers used for centuries to label a guessed-at continent in the southern hemisphere. After British navigator Matthew Flinders mapped the coast in the early 1800s, he urged that the land be called simply 'Australia'. The name was officially adopted in 1824.