outback

out·back | \ ˈau̇t-ˈbak

How to pronounce outback (audio)

, -ˌbak \

Definition of outback

: isolated rural country especially of Australia

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Examples of outback in a Sentence

people who live in the Australian outback tend to be self-sufficient

Recent Examples on the Web The gallery of African, American and European characters, converging at a missionary hospital in the outback of the unnamed African colony, gives Hansberry a broad canvas to lay out a multiplicity of viewpoints. — Peter Marks, Washington Post, "These works by Richard Nelson and Lorraine Hansberry are some of the best plays online now," 8 July 2020 Beginning Monday, students in grades one through 12 can log online and be transported across the globe and beyond — from exploring the Australian outback to building a colony on Mars. — Mandy Mclaren, The Courier-Journal, "JCPS' new summer school program offers virtual adventures, big-ticket prizes," 22 June 2020 In 2019, for example, researchers discovered the fossilized remains of a herd of dinosaurs in an opal mine in the Australian outback. — Fox News, "'Jurassic Park' discovery: Giant footprints shed new light on huge carnivorous dinosaurs," 19 June 2020 In Australia, itinerant shearers routinely rode hundreds of miles across the waterless outback looking for work. — National Geographic, "How bicycles transformed our world," 17 June 2020 Night parrots keep themselves well hidden in the Australian outback. — Ashley Strickland, CNN, "Australia's rare, elusive night parrot may not see that well in the dark," 9 June 2020 But the engine of the poem is Evangeline’s search for her lover, Gabriel, dragged away by the British on a ship and dumped somewhere in the American outback. — James Marcus, The New Yorker, "What Is There to Love About Longfellow?," 1 June 2020 In August 2018, our collaborative project called CRAFT began using the Australian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) radio telescope in the outback of Western Australia to look for FRBs. — Popular Science, "Half the matter in the universe was missing. We found it hiding between galaxies.," 31 May 2020 As a result, the group took on large-scale global projects —erecting a hotel in Kathmandu, Nepal, opening an art gallery in London, clearing land in the Australian outback. — Ineye Komonibo, refinery29.com, "The Group Behind Spaceship Earth‘s Biosphere 2 Has Always Been Enterprising," 8 May 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'outback.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

21 Jul 2020

Cite this Entry

“Outback.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/outback. Accessed 12 Aug. 2020.

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