Tao
1 Americannoun
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(in philosophical Taoism) that in virtue of which all things happen or exist.
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the rational basis of human activity or conduct.
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a universal, regarded as an ideal attained to a greater or lesser degree by those embodying it.
noun
noun
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that in virtue of which all things happen or exist
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the rational basis of human conduct
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the course of life and its relation to eternal truth
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”
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.
Tao didn’t provide the outlet with further details about the center’s location or how much money was invested in it.
From MarketWatch
Tao Tao climbs a tree in the training enclosure.
From Literature
In the first two seasons, Usagi had been grappling with the death of her mountain climber father, and actress Tao Tsuchiya feels that underlying pain could be a point of a connection.
From Salon
But businesswoman Tao Baker, who has submitted plans to transfer the centre over to community ownership, believes a sale would be "short-sighted".
From BBC
When Thomas Tao was a student in New York in the 2010s, he says he rarely came across Chinese fine-dining, but Americans were very willing to pay for, say, Japanese sashimi.
From BBC
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.
