Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of several stocky burrowing Australian marsupials of the family Vombatidae, somewhat resembling a small bear and feeding mainly on grass, leaves, and roots.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun An Australian marsupial mammal of the genus Phascolomys, as P. wombat or P. ursinus. See cut under Phascolomys.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Zoöl.) Any one of three species of Australian burrowing marsupials of the genus Phascolomys, especially the common species (Phascolomys ursinus). They are nocturnal in their habits, and feed mostly on roots.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Any of several herbivorous, burrowing marsupials, of the family Vombatidae, mainly found in southern and eastern Australia.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun burrowing herbivorous Australian marsupials about the size of a badger

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Dharuk wambad.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Dharug wambad, wambaj, or wambag. It was originally written whom-batt in English.

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Examples

Comments

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  • According to the OED:

    Any of the burrowing marsupials of the genus Phascolomys, native to South Australia and Tasmania, characterized by a thick heavy body, short legs, and a general resemblance to a small bear.

    According to me:

    A damn cute little furry critter.

    February 7, 2007

  • Ooh, I just learned that this is an acronym as well, meaning:

    Waste of money, brains and time.

    And let's not forget its adjectival forms phascolomian and wombastic

    October 16, 2007

  • "'Now sir,' cried the Captain, striding into the great cabin, a tall, imposing figure. 'Now sir,'—addressing the wombat, one of the numerous body of marsupials brought into the ship by her surgeon...—'give it up directly, d'ye hear me, there?'

    "The wombat stared him straight in the eye, drew a length of gold lace from its mouth, and then deliberately sucked it in again.

    "'Pass the word for Dr Maturin,' said the Captain, looking angrily at the wombat: and a moment later, 'Come now, Stephen, this is coming it pretty high: your brute is eating my hat.'

    "'So he is, too,' said Dr Maturin. 'But do not be so perturbed, Jack: it will do him no harm, at all. His digestive processes—'

    "At this point the wombat dropped the hat, shuffled rapidly across the deck and swarmed up into Dr Maturin's arms, peering at close range into his face with a look of deep affection."

    --Patrick O'Brian, Fortune of War, pp. 8-9

    February 5, 2008

  • That passage is simply wombastic.

    February 5, 2008

  • Truly. I must get my hands on those O'Brian books, chained_bear.

    February 5, 2008

  • Wombats sleep on their backs, with their little legs sticking straight up in the air.

    Wombats are clever enough to use a stick as a lever to move a boulder that stands between them and a garden patch.

    Wombats will destroy everything you own if you don't give them a carrot when they want a carrot.

    Wombats like having their heads scratched.

    Wombats are hardcore: if a dog gets into their burrow they will let it crawl onto their back and then they will crush it against the roof.

    Facts gleaned from "How to Scratch a Wombat" by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley.

    July 14, 2009

  • Wow. It sounds like my dog is actually a wombat. :) Well... they are both damn cute little furry critters with a demonstrated penchant for carrots and an ability to solve problems, anyhow.

    July 14, 2009