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
“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished,” Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu wrote.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026
Rescue workers used specialised equipment to pry survivors from the wreckage, the local Lao Cai newspaper reported.
From Barron's ● Dec. 27, 2025
Finally I said with a mouth as dry as sand, "Lao Lao, isn't there anything I can do?"
From "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" by Grace Lin
To balance the budget over the last few years, Newsom and lawmakers have dipped into the state’s reserves at a time when California is experiencing strong revenue growth, which the LAO has cautioned against.
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 reported that the California economy has been in a gradual slowdown over the last two years, with about 25% more unemployed workers overall and declining trends in consumer spending.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 6, 2025
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
Still, Toukta is glad Laos can send power abroad.
From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026
Laos already hosts 90 hydropower plants and there are dozens more in neighbouring nations, leaving few optimal sites remaining.
From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026
More than 1,500 people have been deployed to search old battlefields in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia -- neighbouring countries drawn into the war -- alongside thousands more engaged in data collection and analysis.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 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
An even more drastic linguistic upheaval must have swept over tropical Southeast Asia to the south of China—in Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Peninsular Malaysia.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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