tablet

[tab-lit]

noun

1. a number of sheets of writing paper, business forms, etc., fastened together at the edge; pad.

   Advertisers keep sending us these tablets of memo paper with their logo.

2. a thin, flat sheet of slate, wax-coated wood, or other rigid material formerly used for writing or marking on, especially one of a pair or set tablets hinged or otherwise fastened together.

3. a flat slab or surface, especially one bearing or intended to bear an inscription, carving, or the like.

   Synonyms: plaque

4. a small, flattish cake or piece of some solid or solidified substance, such as a drug, chemical, or freeze-dried food.

   She felt better after taking a decongestant tablet.

   A larger garment will require two dye tablets.

5. Also called tablet computer. Also called slate. a small, very thin, portable computer, usually battery-powered, having a touchscreen as the primary interface and input device, and often lacking a cover.

   I’ve entered the appointment in the calendar on my tablet.

   I never go anywhere without my tablet.

verb (used with object)

tableted, tabletted, tableting, tabletting. 

1. to form into pills, small cakes, pellets, etc..

   The tableted vitamins should be swallowed without chewing.

2. to mark or inscribe (memoranda, notes, etc.) on a tablet.

   Too often, our innovative ideas are politely tableted by company executives and never thought of again.

3. to furnish with a plaque or flat piece of material bearing an inscription, carving, or the like.

tablet

/ ˈtæblɪt /

noun

1. a medicinal formulation made of a compressed powdered substance containing an active drug and excipients

2. a flattish cake of some substance, such as soap

3. a sweet made of butter, sugar, and condensed milk, usually shaped in a flat oblong block

4. a slab of stone, wood, etc, esp one formerly used for inscriptions

5. 1. a thinner rigid sheet, as of bark, ivory, etc, used for similar purposes

   2. (often plural) a set or pair of these fastened together, as in a book

6. a pad of writing paper

7. a token giving right of way to the driver of a train on a single line section

8. computing an input device that allows the user to draw or write freehand to screen by means of stylus or digital pen

Word History and Origins

Origin of tablet¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English tablette, from Middle French tablete; equivalent to table + -et

Word History and Origins

Origin of tablet¹

C14: from Old French tablete a little table, from Latin tabula a board

Example Sentences

These robots have become radically easier to program over the past decade, and now people can use a simple tablet interface to instruct them to perform specific sequences of actions.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Kennedy said in a post on X Thursday the FDA “only approved a second generic mifepristone tablet because federal law requires approval when an application proves the generic is identical to the brand-name drug.”

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Each pianist had a tablet computer sending out individual musical instructions.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

He can press a tab on the touchscreen to make the tablet say “My name’s Elijah” if he’s feeling unsafe away from home, another to tell his family he needs space when upset.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

A character named Gracie, for example, guides kids interactively through mazes and maps displayed either on the tablet or in the classroom.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• capsule 
• dose 
• medicine 
• pellet 
• pill