TAO

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Tao mean? 

• TAO (noun)
  The noun TAO has 2 senses:

1. an adherent of any branch of Taoism

2. the ultimate principle of the universe

  Familiarity information: TAO used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• TAO (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An adherent of any branch of Taoism

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

Tao; Taoist

Hypernyms ("Tao" is a kind of...):

adherent; disciple (someone who believes and helps to spread the doctrine of another)

Holonyms ("Tao" is a member of...):

Taoism (religion adhering to the teaching of Lao-tzu)

Taoism (a Chinese sect claiming to follow the teaching of Lao-tzu but incorporating pantheism and sorcery in addition to Taoism)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The ultimate principle of the universe

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("Tao" is a kind of...):

principle (a basic truth or law or assumption)

Domain category:

Daoism; Taoism (philosophical system developed by Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu advocating a simple honest life and noninterference with the course of natural events)

Holonyms ("Tao" is a part of...):

Daoism; Taoism (philosophical system developed by Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu advocating a simple honest life and noninterference with the course of natural events)

 Context examples 

A team led by Dr. Tao Pan at the University of Chicago and Dr. Jonathan Yewdell at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) set out to measure the accuracy of aminoacylation in living cells and animals.

(Genes Can be Read in Different Ways, NIH, US)