Meaning & use
koala
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A small Australian marsupial that lives in trees, has thick gray fur, and eats mainly eucalyptus leaves.
Grammar: Countable: one koala, two koalas. The plural is koalas, not koala.
Patterns
- a koala in a tree
- koalas eat eucalyptus leaves
We saw a koala sleeping in a eucalyptus tree at the wildlife park.
Koalas are native to eastern Australia and spend most of their lives in trees.
The zoo has two koalas, and visitors can watch them from a raised walkway.
Word forms
| plural | koalas |
|---|
Common combinations
- koala bear
- People often call it a koala bear, but it is not a bear at all.
- a koala habitat
- Logging has destroyed much of the koala habitat.
- koala conservation
- Koala conservation groups are trying to protect the remaining forests.
- a baby koala
- A baby koala stays in its mother's pouch for several months.
Synonyms and how they differ
- marsupial
- A general word for animals that carry their young in a pouch; koala is the specific animal.
Commonly confused: koala or panda?
koala vs panda
A panda is a black-and-white bear from China, while a koala is a gray marsupial from Australia. The nickname 'koala bear' can cause confusion.
Practice
Which sentence uses the word 'koala' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Koalas are Australian marsupials that feed on eucalyptus leaves, so option 1 is correct. Option 0 is wrong because koalas are not bears and do not live in China; option 2 is wrong because koalas are not cats; option 3 is wrong because koalas are not birds and 'koala' as a plural is nonstandard.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “koala”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.