| Acronym | Definition |
|---|
| CAO | Chief Administrative Officer (corporate title) |
| CaO | Calcium Oxide |
| CAO | Conception Assistee Par Ordinateur (French) |
| CAO | Collectieve Arbeidsovereenkomst (Dutch) |
| CAO | County Administrative Officer |
| CAO | Chief Academic Officer |
| CAO | Central Applications Office (student placements in Irish universities) |
| CAO | Contract Administration Office(r) |
| CAO | China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corporation Ltd. |
| CAO | Cleanup and Abatement Order |
| CAO | Commission d'Appel d'Offres (France) |
| CAO | Civil Aviation Order |
| CAO | Current As Of |
| CAO | Computer-Assisted Ordering |
| CAO | Computer-Aided Optimization |
| CAO | Canadian Association of Optometrists |
| CAO | Community Action Organization (Buffalo, NY) |
| CAO | Canadian Association of Orthodontists |
| CAO | Carlsbad Area Office |
| CAO | Cultural Affairs Officer (U.S. State Department, Public Affairs) |
| CAO | Cargo Aircraft Only |
| CAO | Corrective Action Order |
| CAO | Cano A. Ozgener (cigar) |
| CAO | Chief Analytics Officer |
| CAO | Central Accounting Office |
| CAO | civil affairs operations (US DoD) |
| CAO | Competency Aligned Organization (NAVAIR) |
| CAO | Casualty Assistance Office |
| CAO | Center for Applied Optics (University of Alabama in Huntsville) |
| CAO | Customer Assistance Office |
| CAO | California Academy of Ophthalmology |
| CAO | Classification Advisory Officer (NSA) |
| CAO | Correct Answer Only (examination marking schemes) |
| CAO | Change of Appointing Office (manpower/personnel) |
| CAO | Counter Air Operation |
| CAO | Combat Air Operations |
| CAO | Coordination of Atomic Operations |
| CAO | Central Asia Ovtcharka (dog breed) |
| CAO | Catering for All Occasions (Estes Park, Colorado) |
| CAO | Case Administering Office (US Foreign Military Sales) |
| CAO | Conscious, Alert, and Oriented |
| CAO | Command Assist Official |
| CAO | counterair operation (US DoD) |
| CAO | Collateral Action Office(r) |
| CAO | Crisis Action Officer |
| CAO | Contract Administrative Officer |
| CAO | Cost Analysis Organization |
| CAO | Circum-Atlantic Project |
| CAO | Corrections Auxiliary Officer |
| CAO | Chief Advisement Officer |
| CAO | Central Adjudication Office |