Since Abo is simply a shortened form of Aborigine or Aboriginal, one could easily think that it is as neutral and inoffensive a term as Aussie is for an Australian. However, Abo is as highly offensive to Australian Aboriginal people as nigger is to African Americans in the United States.
This once quite common word is now completely unacceptable
First recorded in 1905–10; by shortening; see -o
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Hajj has been the dream of a lifetime for me," Ahmed Abo Seta, 47, told AFP.
From Barron's • May 22, 2026
The BBC has verified that pictures and videos provided by Mr Abo Taha of his home match imagery of the house where Sinwar was killed.
From BBC • Oct. 19, 2024
The call came in around 4 p.m., while Adam Abo Sheriah was still at work in his pharmacy in New Jersey.
From New York Times • Apr. 24, 2024
So when her daughter, Julie Abo, became grown, it came as a revelation that her mother had kept her despair hidden behind the stories of Minidoka.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 9, 2023
Here, at the points of a large triangle, sprawl the ruins of three once flourishing pueblo cities, Abo, Cuaray, and Tabirá.
From The Book of the National Parks by Yard, Robert Sterling
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.
