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Lao

American  
[lou] / laʊ /

noun

plural

Laos,

plural

Lao

  1. a member of a people of Laos and northern Thailand.

  2. the Tai language of the Lao.

adjective

  1. of or relating to the Lao or their language.

LAO 1 British  

abbreviation

  1. Laos (international car registration)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Lao 2 British  
/ laʊ /

adjective

  1. another name for Laotian

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of Lao

First recorded in 1880–85; from Lao Láo, a self-designation

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Honworld Group, the holding company for cooking wine and soy sauce maker Lao Heng He in Zhejiang province, said household spending was weaker than expected, leading other brands to unload inventory at low prices.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 28, 2026

People joke that the abbreviation Lao PDR means "Lao Please Don't Rush".

From Barron's • Dec. 1, 2025

"We are not very happy with the tariff… Laos is a very small country," said Xaybandith Rasphone, co-founder of sports marketing agency MKGT, and vice-president of the Lao national chamber of commerce.

From BBC • Aug. 1, 2025

On social media, some Asian Americans pledged their support for what they saw as the original, authentic chili crisp, the product by Lao Gan Ma.

From Los Angeles Times • May 31, 2024

And then Lao Lao went to her room and began to read her fortune sticks.

From "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" by Grace Lin

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.