Khmer
Americannoun
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a member of a people in Cambodia whose ancestors established an empire about the 5th century a.d. and who reached their zenith during the 9th to the 12th centuries when they dominated most of Indochina.
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an Austroasiatic language that is the official language of Cambodia.
noun
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a member of a people of Cambodia, noted for a civilization that flourished from about 800 ad to about 1370, remarkable for its architecture
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the language of this people, belonging to the Mon-Khmer family: the official language of Cambodia
adjective
Other Word Forms
- Khmerian adjective
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.
Experts say the trade thrived from the mid-1960s to the 1990s -- a period of instability that saw the anti-intellectual Khmer Rouge regime rise to power and left precious heritage unprotected.
From Barron's • Feb. 27, 2026
During a sabbatical, she covered the Khmer Rouge trials from Cambodia.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 1, 2026
Penh Yom, 78, survived by hiding her profession, and after the Khmer Rouge-run Democratic Kampuchea fell in 1979, she regrouped with a small troupe of dancers to revive the form.
From Barron's • Dec. 31, 2025
In Cambodian cities, signs in English and Khmer proclaim its desire for peace – one echoed by almost every Cambodian you meet.
From BBC • Dec. 18, 2025
Holding on to my hate for the Khmer Rouge also allows me to go on living the mundane details of life.
From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung
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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.