Lao
noun
a member of a people of Laos and northern Thailand.
Lao
American
[lau]
/ laʊ /
noun
-
Laos,
plural
-
Lao
plural
-
a member of a people of Laos and northern Thailand.
-
the Tai language of the Lao.
adjective
LAO
1
British
abbreviation
Lao
2
British
/ laʊ /
adjective
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of Lao
First recorded in 1880–85; from Lao Láo, a self-designation
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:
“Notable increases in this category include car and truck rental, airline fare and intracity transportation,” said Helen Lao of CIBC.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026
Don’t skip dessert, either, and if you’re a coffee drinker, order the Lao coffee, served with condensed milk and a sugar cube on the side so you can customize the sweetness to your liking.
From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026
Bounkham Luanglath of the Lao organisation Rescue Volunteer for People told the Associated Press the search for the missing would continue.
From BBC ● May 27, 2026
“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished,” Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu wrote.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026
And then Lao Lao went to her room and began to read her fortune sticks.
From "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" by Grace Lin
The LAO found that the increase in spending stemmed from the growing cost of sustaining programs and services that were already in place when Newsom took office.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
The LAO told MarketWatch that it had not yet estimated the potential benefits from SpaceX’s plans.
From MarketWatch ● May 19, 2026
The LAO said their outlook accounts for higher costs to fight wildfires, but doesn’t calculate in other unanticipated disasters, such as earthquakes or another pandemic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 20, 2024
Corporate tax collections are down 15% from last year, the fourth largest drop in the past 40 years, according to the LAO.
From Seattle Times ● May 9, 2024
Page 79: LAS is suspected to be a typo for LAO, as this name occurs only once.
From The Heroic Enthusiasts (Gli Eroici Furori) Part the Second An Ethical Poem by Giordano Bruno
At a substation in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi, he told AFP that by 2030, Laos imports would equal nearly 10 percent of Vietnam's total installed capacity -- its maximum possible production.
From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026
"Because Vietnam and Laos are like brothers. They help one another."
From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026
Eswatini, which welcomed 32 deportees from the US, says three people - from Yemen, Belize and Laos - "voluntarily departed" to their home countries recently.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
China is "not building one base in Laos and stopping", he said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
Countries with higher per capita incomes than North Korea include Sudan, Congo, and Laos.
From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden
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