austral

1 of 3

adjective

aus·​tral ˈȯ-strəl How to pronounce austral (audio)
ˈä-
1
: of or relating to the southern hemisphere
2
Austral : australian

austral

2 of 3

noun

aus·​tral au̇-ˈsträl How to pronounce austral (audio)
plural australes au̇-ˈsträ-lās How to pronounce austral (audio) also australs
: the basic monetary unit of Argentina from 1985 to 1991

Austral

3 of 3

abbreviation

Australia

Examples of austral in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Adjective
End of an era The megaberg will likely not last through the austral summer, or the summer months in the Southern hemisphere. — Devika Rao, TheWeek, 14 Jan. 2026 The days began to run together under the perpetual Sun of austral summer. — Bychristian Elliott, science.org, 18 Apr. 2024 The phenomenon is most visible during the austral winter, from May through August, when the nights are long and dark. — Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 6 July 2025 There’s a wealth of avian species that thrive across the park, providing explorers with an opportunity to spot austral parakeets, Magellanic tapaculos and even the Andean condor, a majestic creature that serves as the national bird of Chile. — Jared Ranahan, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for austral

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English, from Latin australis, from Austr-, Auster

Noun

Spanish

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1985, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of austral was in the 14th century

Rhymes for austral

See All Rhymes for austral

Browse Nearby Words

Austr-
austral
Austral
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Austral.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/austral. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All