oral adj

1 using speech rather than writing; "an oral tradition"; "an oral agreement" [syn: unwritten]

2 of or relating to or affecting or for use in the mouth; "oral hygiene"; "an oral thermometer"; "an oral vaccine"

3 of or involving the mouth or mouth region or the surface on which the mouth is located; "the oral cavity"; "the oral mucous membrane"; "the oral surface of a starfish" [ant: aboral]

4 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 [ant: anal] n : an examination conducted by word of mouth [syn: oral exam, oral examination, viva voce, viva]

see Oral

English

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɔːrəl

Adjective

oral

1. Relating to the mouth.
2. Spoken rather than written.

   An oral presentation

Related terms

• oral availability
• oral exam
• oral sex

Translations

Noun

1. Short for an oral test or oral exam, particularly in a language class.
2. Short for a physical oral examination or oral exam.
3. Short for oral sex.

See also

• aural

German

Adjective

oral

1. Relating to the mouth.

Portuguese

Adjective

1. oral

The word oral may refer to:

As an adjective:

• the mouth.
• speech communication as opposed to writing.
• oral schools use oralism to teach the deaf.
• oral stage, Sigmund Freud's name for a child's development during the first 0 to 18 months of life, in which an infant's pleasure centers are in the mouth.
• oral sex

Other:

• Oral, Kazakhstan, a city
• Royaume d'Oral, 18th Century French name for the Principality of Bethio on the Senegal River in West Africa
• Oral Roberts, an American televangelist.
• Oral Roberts University, named after the televangelist.

See also

• Ural
• Orel

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