Tao

¹ American  

[dou, tou] / daʊ, taʊ /

noun

(sometimes lowercase)

1. (in philosophical Taoism) that in virtue of which all things happen or exist.

2. the rational basis of human activity or conduct.

3. a universal, regarded as an ideal attained to a greater or lesser degree by those embodying it.

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Tao ² American  

[tou] / taʊ /

noun

1. Yami.

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Tao British  

/ taʊ /

noun

1. that in virtue of which all things happen or exist

2. the rational basis of human conduct

3. the course of life and its relation to eternal truth

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Etymology

Origin of Tao¹

First recorded in 1730–40; from Chinese (Wade-Giles) Tao4, (pinyin) dào literally, “path, way, right way”

Origin of Tao²

From Tao: literally, “human being”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Tao

"Recovering critical minerals is only part of the opportunity," Tao said.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026

Wekselblatt and Galvan said Tao Group Hospitality approached them about hosting events, resulting in back-to-back game nights at Moxy Lower East Side in July 2025.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

For Gallo and his team of Aditya Aney, Tao Pan and William Koor, “both the AI and private credit universes face significant volatility.”

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

“The Tao of Wu” looks forward to a shapeshifting future and calls for a defense of human creativity: “We must find and use a logic that’s not programmable.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026

Zhu Tao sat quietly, staring at his boss.

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir