tablet

American  

[tab-lit] / ˈtæb lɪt /

noun

• tablets
  plural

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, 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 British  

/ 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

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• tablets
  plural

Etymology

Origin of tablet

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

Explanation

A tablet can be a slab of stone, like an engraved tablet discovered by an archaeologist, or a small disc of medicine, like a tablet of aspirin. You can also use the noun tablet to mean "writing pad" or "small computer with a touch screen." The earliest meaning of the word is "surface for inscription," the writing pads of the ancient world, which were made of stone, clay, or wax. The Latin root of tablet is tabula, "board, writing table, or list."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tablet tablets tableted tabletting

The twist: It’s not Claire’s cellphone or tablet that needs more juice—it is Claire herself.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

This, in effect, makes "every phone or tablet kid-safe as a starting point," it said.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

Two sources also say Diddy has access to a “jailbroken” tablet where he watches movies and documentaries, including “Sean Combs: The Reckoning,” the Netflix docuseries produced by his adversary Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

Future versions could potentially be taken as an oral tablet, which could make the treatment easier to administer and potentially broaden its use beyond mesothelioma.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026

I unwrapped a Rolaids tablet from a roll in my pocket and began to chew on it.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

The three tablets start at about $230, $330 and $500, respectively, Amazon said Thursday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

Amazon is launching a lineup of three new Alexa tablets: Amazon Alexa Tablet 12 Pro, Amazon Alexa Tablet 11, and Amazon Alexa Tablet 8.

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026

The new devices can run Google apps like Gmail, Docs and YouTube – a feature absent from Amazon’s prior tablets – in addition to built-in Amazon apps like Prime Video and Kindle.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

He said his parents took him to a doctor, who prescribed testosterone tablets.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

Tess and Eliana were already settled in one set each with a large volume open on their laps while Corban and Blake were busy scrolling tablets, ignoring the books sitting between them.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

Tied among the thickets were some twenty moaning tortoises, supplying Hunilla's lonely larder; while hundreds of vast tableted black bucklers, like displaced, shattered tomb-stones of dark slate, were also scattered round.

From The Piazza Tales by Herman Melville

When the party arrived on the beach, they found Captain Paul writing with pencil on paper held up against the smooth tableted side of the cliff.

From Israel Potter by Herman Melville

The previous month and from within Europe, Denmark’s Novo Nordisk announced an investment of 432 million euros in a new tabletting facility.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026

Related Words

• capsule
• dose
• medicine
• pellet
• pill