o·ral
(ôŕəl, ōŕ-)
[Late Latin ōrālis, from Latin ōs, ōr-, mouth.]
adjective
- Spoken rather than written. See Usage Note at: verbal
- Of or relating to the mouth: oral surgery.
- Used in or taken through the mouth: an oral thermometer; an oral vaccine.
- Consisting of or using speech: oral instruction.
- Linguistics Articulated through the mouth only, with the nasal passages closed.
- Psychology Of or relating to the first stage of psychosexual development in psychoanalytic theory, from birth to about 18 months, during which the mouth is the chief focus of exploration and pleasure. The oral stage is followed by the anal stage.
noun
- An academic examination in which questions and answers are spoken rather than written. Often used in the plural.
derivatives
- óral·ly
- adverb
O·ral
(ôŕəl) or U·ralsk
or U·rals'k
(yŏŏ-rălsḱ, ōō-rälsḱ)
- A city of northwest Kazakhstan on the Ural River south-southwest of Samara, Russia. Founded by Cossacks c. 1622, it is a processing and manufacturing center.
