oral

adjective · noun

Simple meaning

Of or about or affecting or for use in the mouth.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

awruhl

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice

IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈɔɹəl

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adjective

relational
Of or relating to or affecting or for use in the mouth
relational
Relating to the mouth.
relational
Relating to the transmission of information or literature by word of mouth.
relational
Of or involving the mouth or mouth region or the surface on which the mouth is located
relational
A stage in psychosexual development when the child's interest is concentrated in the mouth; fixation at this stage is said to result in dependence, selfishness, and aggression
pharmacology
Done or taken by the mouth.

noun

An examination conducted by spoken communication
countable
A spoken test or examination, particularly in a language class.
countableusually in the plural
A physical examination of the mouth.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty: A1 · Beginner (estimated)
Frequency: Very Common
Typical Use: Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Of or relating to or affecting or for use in the mouth

Used this way, oral is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone: Neutral
Formality: Neutral
Intensity: Not strongly marked
How common: Moderately common
Connotation: No strong connotation
Usage feel: Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use oral

“The student gave an excellent oral presentation to the class.”adjective

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

orallyadverbDerived adverb
Through the mouth rather than through injection.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

oral cavitynounCompound term
The opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge.
oral communicationnounCompound term
Communication by word of mouth.
oral contraceptionnounCompound term
Contraception achieved by taking oral contraceptive pills.
oral contraceptivenounCompound term
A contraceptive in the form of a pill containing estrogen and progestin to inhibit ovulation and so prevent conception.
oral contraceptive pillnounCompound term
A contraceptive in the form of a pill containing estrogen and progestin to inhibit ovulation and so prevent conception.
oral contractnounCompound term
An agreement that is not in writing and is not signed by the parties but is a real existing contract that lacks only the formal requirement of a memorandum to render it enforceable in…

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: examination conducted by spoken communication

viva voceoral examRare

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.