Tao

¹ American  

[dau, tau] / daʊ, taʊ /

noun

(sometimes lowercase)

1. (in philosophical Taoism) that in virtue of which all things happen or exist.

2. the rational basis of human activity or conduct.

3. a universal, regarded as an ideal attained to a greater or lesser degree by those embodying it.

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Tao ² American  

[tau] / taʊ /

noun

1. Yami.

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Tao British  

/ taʊ /

noun

1. that in virtue of which all things happen or exist

2. the rational basis of human conduct

3. the course of life and its relation to eternal truth

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Etymology

Origin of Tao¹

First recorded in 1730–40; from Chinese (Wade-Giles) Tao4, (pinyin) dào literally, “path, way, right way”

Origin of Tao²

From Tao: literally, “human being”

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Tao

ORNL's Tao Wang contributed expertise in molten salt chemistry, while ORNL's Logan Kearney supplied high-density polymers and provided expert guidance on possible routes for converting them into higher-value products.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026

This week, Tao was one of two dozen Fields winners to warn that the AI industry’s obsession with solving math problems could undermine the purpose of math itself.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026

For Gallo and his team of Aditya Aney, Tao Pan and William Koor, “both the AI and private credit universes face significant volatility.”

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

Seasoned investor Tao flew to Hong Kong from Shanghai, telling AFP he spent two weeks opening bank and broker accounts to retain access to US stocks.

From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026

Using radio telemetry tracking, they spotted the elusive Tao Tao up in a tree, hiding—frightened of the humans approaching...a great sign!

From "Camp Panda" by Catherine Thimmesh

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