oral
uttered by the mouth; spoken: oral testimony.
of, using, or transmitted by speech: oral methods of language teaching; oral traditions.
of, relating to, or involving the mouth: the oral cavity.
done, taken, or administered through the mouth: an oral dose of medicine.
Phonetics. articulated with none of the voice issuing through the nose, as the normal English vowels and the consonants b and v.
Psychoanalysis.
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.
of or relating to the sublimation of feelings experienced during the oral stage of childhood: oral anxiety.
of or relating to gratification by stimulation of the lips or membranes of the mouth, as in sucking, eating, or talking
Zoology. pertaining to that surface of polyps and marine animals that contains the mouth and tentacles.
an oral examination in a school, college, or university, given especially to a candidate for an advanced degree.
Origin of oral
1usage note For oral
Other words from oral
- o·ral·i·ty, noun
- o·ral·ly, adverb
- non·o·ral, adjective
- post·o·ral, adjective
- sub·o·ral, adjective
- un·o·ral, adjective
Words that may be confused with oral
- oral , aural
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use oral in a sentence
The chelicer no longer appear to spring from an independent postoral segment.
The Works of Francis Maitland Balfour, Volume 1 | Francis Maitland BalfourThe cilia of the preoral and postoral bands are not clearly differentiated at this stage.
The postoral arches formed are the mandibular, hyoid and five branchial arches.
The Works of Francis Maitland Balfour, Volume III (of 4) | Francis Maitland Balfour
British Dictionary definitions for oral
/ (ˈɔːrəl, ˈɒrəl) /
spoken or verbal: an oral agreement
relating to, affecting, or for use in the mouth: an oral thermometer
of or relating to the surface of an animal, such as a jellyfish, on which the mouth is situated
denoting a drug to be taken by mouth: an oral contraceptive Compare parenteral
of, relating to, or using spoken words
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
psychoanal
relating to a stage of psychosexual development during which the child's interest is concentrated on the mouth
denoting personality traits, such as dependence, selfishness, and aggression, resulting from fixation at the oral stage: Compare anal (def. 2), genital (def. 2), phallic (def. 2)
an examination in which the questions and answers are spoken rather than written
Origin of oral
1Derived forms of oral
- orally, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for oral
[ ôr′əl ]
Relating to or involving the mouth.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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