AUSTRALIAN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Australian mean? 

• AUSTRALIAN (noun)
  The noun AUSTRALIAN has 2 senses:

1. a native or inhabitant of Australia

2. the Austronesian languages spoken by Australian aborigines

  Familiarity information: AUSTRALIAN used as a noun is rare.

• AUSTRALIAN (adjective)
  The adjective AUSTRALIAN has 1 sense:

1. of or relating to or characteristic of Australia or its inhabitants or its languages

  Familiarity information: AUSTRALIAN used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• AUSTRALIAN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A native or inhabitant of Australia

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

Aussie; Australian

Hypernyms ("Australian" is a kind of...):

denizen; dweller; habitant; indweller; inhabitant (a person who inhabits a particular place)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "Australian"):

Aborigine; Australian Aborigine; native Australian (a member of the people living in Australia when Europeans arrived)

Holonyms ("Australian" is a member of...):

Australia; Commonwealth of Australia (a nation occupying the whole of the Australian continent; Aboriginal tribes are thought to have migrated from southeastern Asia 20,000 years ago; first Europeans were British convicts sent there as a penal colony)

Derivation:

Australian (of or relating to or characteristic of Australia or its inhabitants or its languages)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The Austronesian languages spoken by Australian aborigines

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

Aboriginal Australian; Australian

Hypernyms ("Australian" is a kind of...):

Austronesian; Austronesian language (the family of languages spoken in Australia and Formosa and Malaysia and Polynesia)

Domain region:

Australia; Commonwealth of Australia (a nation occupying the whole of the Australian continent; Aboriginal tribes are thought to have migrated from southeastern Asia 20,000 years ago; first Europeans were British convicts sent there as a penal colony)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "Australian"):

Dyirbal; Jirrbal; Walbiri; Warlpiri (a language of Australian aborigines)

Derivation:

Australian (of or relating to or characteristic of Australia or its inhabitants or its languages)

• AUSTRALIAN (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Of or relating to or characteristic of Australia or its inhabitants or its languages

Classified under:

Relational adjectives (pertainyms)

Context example:

Australian aborigines

Pertainym:

Australia (the smallest continent; between the South Pacific and the Indian Ocean)

Derivation:

Australia (a nation occupying the whole of the Australian continent; Aboriginal tribes are thought to have migrated from southeastern Asia 20,000 years ago; first Europeans were British convicts sent there as a penal colony)

Australian (the Austronesian languages spoken by Australian aborigines)

Australian (a native or inhabitant of Australia)

 Context examples 

In November 2018 the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) radio telescope pinpointed a fast radio burst, named FRB 181112.

(Enigmatic radio burst illuminates a galaxy’s tranquil ​halo, ESO)

In the north Australian city of Darwin, about 25,000 homes were also without power after a tropical cyclone felled trees.

(Australian Wildfires Destroy Homes, Kill Cattle as Hundreds of People Flee, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Australian scientists have successfully blocked the deadliest malaria parasite —- Plasmodium falciparum — in its transmission stage, paving the way for developing preventative therapies to stop the spread of the disease.

(New way to stop falciparum malaria transmission, SciDev.Net)

He had one of the meat-tins between his knees, and sat with a large piece of cold Australian mutton between his fingers.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The system, which would operate through a telescope near the Australian capital, Canberra, is expected to be finished early next year.

(Australia Developing Lasers to Track, Destroy Space Junk, VOA)

Australian researchers have made a breakthrough in the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis using immunotherapy.

(Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Developed in Australia Shows Promise, VOA)

The Australian Terrier is one of the smallest in the Terrier Group.

(Australian Terrier, NCI Thesaurus)

A 6-0-butanoyl ester derivative of castanospermine, a compound derived from the Australian chestnut with activity against hepatitis C virus.

(Celgosivir, NCI Thesaurus)

The Australian Shepherd is a medium-sized dog with a weather resistant coat of medium texture and moderate length.

(Australian Shepherd, NCI Thesaurus)

The Australian Cattle Dog is a sturdy, compact, well-muscled and powerful working dog.

(Australian Cattle Dog, NCI Thesaurus)