Vientiane

American

[vyen-tyahn] / vyɛnˈtyɑn /

noun

a city in and the capital of Laos, on the Mekong River, in the NW part.

Vientiane British

/ ˌvjɛntɪˈɑːn, wiːɛŋtæn /

noun

the administrative capital of Laos, in the south near the border with Thailand: capital of the kingdom of Vientiane from 1707 until taken by the Thais in 1827. Pop: 776 000 (2005 est)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

"It's sad to see this, as she was very vocal and really represented the Laos people," said a 30-year-old development worker in the capital Vientiane.

From Barron's • Feb. 20, 2026

They were sent to a hospital in the capital Vientiane, but died in the middle of the night.

From BBC • Nov. 24, 2024

Nestled among the mountains of northern Laos, Luang Prabang was the capital from the 14th to the 16th century before it was moved to Vientiane.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 31, 2024

Laos’s capital, Vientiane, reached 108.5 degrees on Saturday, the hottest temperature on record.

From New York Times • May 12, 2023

Only if he were to ignore the illustrated signs of a man being electrocuted that graced the whole of Vientiane, and grab a low electrical wire would an end come to him there.

From An Apostate: Nawin of Thais by Sills, Steven (Steven David Justin)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023