billabong

noun

bil·​la·​bong ˈbi-lə-ˌbȯŋ How to pronounce billabong (audio)
-ˌbäŋ
Synonyms of billabongnext
1
Australia
a
: a blind channel leading out from a river
b
: a usually dry streambed that is filled seasonally
2
Australia : a backwater forming a stagnant pool

Synonyms of billabong

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Examples of billabong in a Sentence

taking a break from our trek through the outback, we bathed our tired feet in the still waters of a billabong
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.
The plants and creatures were fossilized when iron-rich groundwater drained into a billabong, or water hole. — Katie Hunt, CNN, 7 Jan. 2022 Farmers are fretting about their water being diverted to swamps and billabongs. — IEEE Spectrum, 28 May 2010 Cruises operate daily and are a fantastic way to discover the billabong's remarkable flora and fauna. — Smithsonian, 7 Apr. 2017 Fifteen million years ago, a river carved through the jungle, leaving an oxbow lake (known as a billabong in Australia) in its wake at McGraths Flat. — New York Times, 7 Jan. 2022 Sonia Namarnyilk layered three stencils to print complex patterns of mermaid-like water spirits, their fluid, bright orange undulations interspersed with playful turtles and rippling billabong plants. — Los Angeles Times, 11 May 2022

Word History

Etymology

Wiradhuri (Australian aboriginal language of central New South Wales) bilabaŋ

First Known Use

1852, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of billabong was in 1852

Rhymes for billabong

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Browse Nearby Words

billable
billabong
bill and coo
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Cite this Entry

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

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