- plural of Lao.
Laos
Americannoun
noun
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Civil war among communist and noncommunist factions in the 1950s and 1960s attracted extensive covert aid from the Soviet Union, China, and the United States.
During the Vietnam War, Vietnamese communists established the Ho Chi Minh Trail through the remote mountains of Laos to channel troops and supplies from North Vietnam to South Vietnam.
The communist Pathet Lao, with long-standing close ties to the Vietnamese communists, have been in power since 1975.
Part of French Indochina from 1893 to 1949, it was granted full sovereignty in 1954.
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.
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
"The benefit for Laos is it keeps China happy," Kurlantzick said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
Raxa had stepped up his crab fishing in the days before the accident to afford an evangelical trip to his home country of Laos.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
"Then in October into November I'm going to Vietnam and Laos to do a little bit of a tour."
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 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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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.