Khmer

American  

[kmair, kuh-mair] / kmɛər, kəˈmɛər /

noun

1. 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.

2. an Austroasiatic language that is the official language of Cambodia.

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Khmer British  

/ kmɜː, kmɛə /

noun

1. a member of a people of Cambodia, noted for a civilization that flourished from about 800 _ad to about 1370, remarkable for its architecture

2. the language of this people, belonging to the Mon-Khmer family: the official language of Cambodia

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adjective

1. of or relating to this people or their language

Other Word Forms

• Khmerian adjective

Example Sentences

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

Before the scandal came to light, Latchford earned acclaim for books detailing the art of the ancient Khmer Empire, which spanned modern-day Cambodia and much else of Southeast Asia.

From Barron's • Feb. 27, 2026

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

The following gallery pushes visitors to imagine the overall effects of bronze across the varied surfaces of Angkor during the apex of Khmer power in the 12th and 13th centuries.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 10, 2025

Since the Khmer Rouge takeover of Phnom Penh, I have heard of Pol Pot but I never knew exactly what his position with the Angkar was.

From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung