oral

oral — adjective

1. expressed by speaking instead of being written down

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

expressed by speaking instead of being written down

Example

The judge asked for an oral answer, not a written statement.

contrast: oral answer / written statement

Mia gave an oral report to the class about sea turtles.

collocation: oral report

Common collocations
  • oral answer
  • oral report
  • oral history
  • oral promise
  • oral instructions
Synonyms
  • spoken

    the most direct everyday alternative

  • verbal

    often sounds more formal and can also suggest words in general

  • unwritten

    stresses that nothing is written, but not always that someone spoke

Antonyms
  • written

    describes language put into words on paper or a screen

Grammar Patterns

oral exam

oral answer

oral agreement

Usage Note

Often appears before nouns such as exam, promise, report, or tradition. Distinguish from sense 2, which is about the mouth as a body part or a route for medicine.

Common Mistakes

Please email me your oral report tonight.
Please email me your written report tonight.
If it is sent by email, it is written, not oral.

2. used on the mouth area, or taken into the body by swallowing

2.adjectiveC1
Definition

used on the mouth area, or taken into the body by swallowing

Example

The nurse switched Dad to oral medicine after the injection.

collocation: oral medicine

Good oral hygiene can prevent pain in your gums.

collocation: oral hygiene

Common collocations
  • oral medicine
  • oral hygiene
  • oral gel
  • oral liquids
  • oral care
Synonyms
  • mouth

    is the everyday noun, not a formal adjective

  • buccal

    is a technical medical word for the mouth area

Antonyms
  • nasal

    describes the nose rather than the mouth

  • topical

    for medicine put on the skin instead of taken by mouth

Grammar Patterns

oral medicine

oral hygiene

oral care

Usage Note

Common with medical and dental nouns, especially medicine, care, hygiene, and surgeon. Distinguish from sense 1 when the word describes how information is given rather than which body part is involved.

Common Mistakes

Rub this oral medicine on your arm.
Take this oral medicine with water.
Oral medicine goes into the mouth; it is not put on the skin.

oral — noun

Word family

  • orally
    adverbC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

For adjective/1, oral stresses that words are delivered by speaking instead of being written. Spoken is the plain everyday alternative and often sounds more natural in conversation. Verbal is more formal and can sometimes mean simply connected with words, so it is a little broader than oral. Unwritten focuses on the lack of a written record; it does not always suggest that anyone actually said the words aloud. Use oral especially with set nouns such as exam, agreement, answer, or tradition. You can say The judge asked for an oral answer, but We have a spoken exam tomorrow is more conversational than We have an oral exam tomorrow.

spoken ↗verbal ↗unwritten

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Oral comes from Latin os, meaning mouth. Latin formed oralis from that root, meaning connected with the mouth. English first used oral for the body-part sense, and later widened it to cover speech because speaking is done with the mouth.