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.

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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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• tablets
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of tablet

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

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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

I was really paying attention,” she says, holding a tablet and loose papers on her lap.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

One group was given compression garments; the other group was given a placebo tablet that they were told was equally as effective as compression.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026

HomeView is a $299, seven-inch tablet and speaker powered by the recently revamped Siri AI personal assistant.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 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

It’s not a noise like clicking on the tablet or sighing while staring at a screen.

From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga

Lowenthal said earlier this year he was inspired to seek more safeguards for social media users, citing the anxiety and depression among children who grew up with access to cellphones, tablets and computer screens.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026

"Inserting oral tablets is unsafe. Cetirizine tablets are made to be swallowed. Their ingredients have not been tested on delicate vaginal tissue," it added.

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026

“Most people are looking for freeze-dried food and wind-up radios from us, but also a lot of water purification tablets, water filters and the like.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 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

When the five were gone, Aunty Ifeoma asked him to drink some water so the tablets could break down and start to help his body heal.

From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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

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Related Words

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