oral
Americanadjective
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uttered by the mouth; spoken.
oral testimony.
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of, using, or transmitted by speech.
oral methods of language teaching; oral traditions.
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of, relating to, or involving the mouth.
the oral cavity.
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done, taken, or administered through the mouth.
an oral dose of medicine.
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Phonetics. articulated with none of the voice issuing through the nose, as the normal English vowels and the consonants b and v.
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Psychoanalysis.
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of or relating to the earliest phase of infantile psychosexual development, lasting from birth to one year of age or longer, during which pleasure is obtained from eating, sucking, and biting.
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of or relating to the sublimation of feelings experienced during the oral stage of childhood.
oral anxiety.
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of or relating to gratification by stimulation of the lips or membranes of the mouth, as in sucking, eating, or talking
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Zoology. pertaining to that surface of polyps and marine animals that contains the mouth and tentacles.
noun
adjective
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spoken or verbal
an oral agreement
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relating to, affecting, or for use in the mouth
an oral thermometer
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of or relating to the surface of an animal, such as a jellyfish, on which the mouth is situated
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denoting a drug to be taken by mouth Compare parenteral
an oral contraceptive
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of, relating to, or using spoken words
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phonetics pronounced with the soft palate in a raised position completely closing the nasal cavity and allowing air to pass out only through the mouth
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psychoanal
noun
Usage
See verbal.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of oral
First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin ōr- (stem of ōs ) “mouth” (cognate with Sanskrit āsya ) + -al 1
Explanation
The word oral means having to do with the mouth or speaking. When you give an oral report in school, you stand in front of the class and talk. Use the adjective oral to describe something that's spoken aloud, like an oral exam or an oral history passed between generations through bedtime stories. Oral is also good for referring to other things you do with your mouth — your dentist may drive you crazy talking about "oral hygiene," or keeping your teeth clean. The roots of the word oral go back to the Latin word for "mouth," which is os.
Vocabulary lists containing oral
Guts
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Commonly Confused Words, List 4
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Reading: Literature - Middle School
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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.
See Examples For:
Last month's trial results showed that its new pill appears to help people lose a similar amount of weight to other GLP-1 oral drugs.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
The push toward better oral health isn’t confined to dentists’ and doctors’ offices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
“The Flores consent decree is an agreement which goes well above the constitutional floor,” Shumate told the court during oral arguments in June.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
The police also said their inquiries will continue and a secondary sample of oral fluid was taken for further analysis.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Following the oral argument, I still had hope that the court would overturn the conviction and sentence because it was so clearly unsupported by reliable facts.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
Some schools had, however, considered holding orals and practical assessments remotely if possible.
From BBC ● Mar. 28, 2020
"It was a nice novel about a graduate student taking his orals to get his teaching credentials," he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 15, 2015
“Historically, Liverpool has been a blue-collar port city,” added Mr. Lee, 24, as thoughtful as if he were delivering his orals at graduate school.
From New York Times ● Apr. 16, 2014
If a student does poorly, the orals can be repeated.
From New York Times ● Aug. 27, 2012
In addition to their anniversary, there is something else to celebrate: Moushumi successfully passed her orals the week before, is now officially ABD.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
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.
