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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.


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

"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

adjective

  1. of or relating to this people or their language

"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

Other Word Forms

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.

See Examples For:

There’s another short film which is 14 minutes long about a young family during the Khmer Rouge.

From The Wall Street Journal Jun. 1, 2026

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

Khmer classical dance, performed to traditional music, is renowned for its graceful hand gestures and stunning costumes, and has a 1,000-year history.

From Barron's Dec. 31, 2025

There have always been close links between people in Surin: many Cambodians work there, and Khmer, the Cambodian language, is spoken throughout the region.

From BBC Dec. 18, 2025

Ma also has to be extra careful because she speaks Khmer with a Chinese accent.

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

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