oral

American  

[awr-uhl] / ˈɔr əl /

adjective

1. uttered by the mouth; spoken.

   oral testimony.

2. of, using, or transmitted by speech.

   oral methods of language teaching; oral traditions.

3. of, relating to, or involving the mouth.

   the oral cavity.

4. done, taken, or administered through the mouth.

   an oral dose of medicine.

5. Phonetics. articulated with none of the voice issuing through the nose, as the normal English vowels and the consonants b and v.

6. Psychoanalysis.

   1. 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.

   2. of or relating to the sublimation of feelings experienced during the oral stage of childhood.

      oral anxiety.

   3. of or relating to gratification by stimulation of the lips or membranes of the mouth, as in sucking, eating, or talking

7. Zoology. pertaining to that surface of polyps and marine animals that contains the mouth and tentacles.

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noun

1. an oral examination in a school, college, or university, given especially to a candidate for an advanced degree.

oral British  

/ ˈɒrəl, ˈɔːrəl /

adjective

1. spoken or verbal

   an oral agreement

2. relating to, affecting, or for use in the mouth

   an oral thermometer

3. of or relating to the surface of an animal, such as a jellyfish, on which the mouth is situated

4. denoting a drug to be taken by mouth Compare parenteral

   an oral contraceptive

5. of, relating to, or using spoken words

6. 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

7. psychoanal

   1. relating to a stage of psychosexual development during which the child's interest is concentrated on the mouth

   2. denoting personality traits, such as dependence, selfishness, and aggression, resulting from fixation at the oral stage Compare anal genital phallic

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noun

1. an examination in which the questions and answers are spoken rather than written

oral Scientific  

/ ôr′əl /

1. Relating to or involving the mouth.

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Usage

See verbal.

Other Word Forms

• nonoral adjective
• orality noun
• orally adverb
• postoral adjective
• suboral adjective
• unoral adjective

Etymology

Origin of oral

First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin ōr- (stem of ōs ) “mouth” (cognate with Sanskrit āsya ) + -al ¹

Example Sentences

The cuts also apply to Rybelsus, an oral tablet approved to treat adults with type 2 diabetes.

From Barron's

He said, up until now, he could live through a projected near double-digit decline in revenue, given the momentum of the launch of oral Wegovy as well as his belief that the guidance was conservative.

From MarketWatch

Just remember, an oral promise may not be enough.

From MarketWatch

"The 10 antibiotics we found resistance to are widely used in oral and injectable therapies used to treat a range of serious bacterial infections in clinical practice," Purcarea noted.

From Science Daily

Introduced in 2013, they quickly gained popularity because they were the first oral treatments capable of controlling both pests for a month or longer.

From Science Daily