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.

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adjective

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

LAO ¹ British  

abbreviation

1. Laos (international car registration)

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Lao ² British  

/ laʊ /

adjective

1. another name for Laotian

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Etymology

Origin of Lao

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

Example Sentences

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

Most of the 18 passengers were teachers from Hanoi on a charity trip to Lao Cai province, where the accident occurred on a long downhill stretch in Phinh Ho commune.

From Barron's • Dec. 27, 2025

In the ‘80s and ‘90s, the federal government resettled tens of thousands of Hmong, Lao, Cambodian and Vietnamese refugees in California after the Vietnam War, the Cambodian genocide and the Laotian civil war .

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 21, 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

Finally I said with a mouth as dry as sand, "Lao Lao, isn't there anything I can do?"

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