Lao

American  

[lou] / laʊ /

noun

plural

Laos,

plural

Lao

1. a member of a people of Laos and northern Thailand.

2. the Tai language of the Lao.

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adjective

1. of or relating to the Lao or their language.

LAO ¹ British  

abbreviation

1. Laos (international car registration)

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Lao ² British  

/ laʊ /

adjective

1. another name for Laotian

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Etymology

Origin of Lao

First recorded in 1880–85; from Lao Láo, a self-designation

Example Sentences

Honworld Group, the holding company for cooking wine and soy sauce maker Lao Heng He in Zhejiang province, said household spending was weaker than expected, leading other brands to unload inventory at low prices.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 28, 2026

Lao media later reported that the body of the Lao woman Pany Her and a one-year-old child were found, separately, near Luang Prabang.

From BBC • Dec. 22, 2025

People joke that the abbreviation Lao PDR means "Lao Please Don't Rush".

From Barron's • Dec. 1, 2025

On social media, some Asian Americans pledged their support for what they saw as the original, authentic chili crisp, the product by Lao Gan Ma.

From Los Angeles Times • May 31, 2024

The ancestors of modern speakers of Thai, Lao, and Burmese all moved south from South China and adjacent areas to their present locations within historical times, successively inundating the settled descendants of previous migrations.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond