Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Spoken rather than written.
- adjective Of or relating to the mouth.
- adjective Used in or taken through the mouth.
- adjective Consisting of or using speech.
- adjective Linguistics Articulated through the mouth only, with the nasal passages closed.
- adjective 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.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun In crinoids, same as
oral valve (which see, underoral ). - Of or pertaining to the mouth or ingestive opening: as, the oral orifice; oral surgery; oral gestation.
- Uttered by the mouth or in words; spoken, not written: as, oral traditions; oral testimony; oral law.
- Using or concerned with speech only, and not writing; communicating instruction, etc., by word of mouth; viva voce.
- In zoology, situated on the same part or side of the body as the mouth: opposed to aboral or anal.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Uttered by the mouth, or in words; spoken, not written; verbal
- adjective Of or pertaining to the mouth; surrounding or lining the mouth.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Relating to the
mouth ;mouthly . - adjective
Spoken rather than written. - noun countable A spoken
test orexamination , particularly in a language class. - noun countable A physical
examination of themouth . - noun uncountable
oral sex .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective using speech rather than writing
- adjective 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
- adjective of or involving the mouth or mouth region or the surface on which the mouth is located
- adjective of or relating to or affecting or for use in the mouth
- noun an examination conducted by spoken communication
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The oral reproduction of the stories by the children is the best possible _oral language_ drill, while their partial written review is the basis of much of the regular _composition_ work.
The Elements of General Method Based on the Principles of Herbart Charles Alexander McMurry 1893
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And those lucky people who haven’t had oral yet still haven’t had oral haha.
j-gan Diary Entry j-gan 2004
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Use condoms or avoid sex, including what we call oral sex because society does not like to use the terms fellatio and cunnilingus.
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However, be there this distinction betwixt them, or some other, or indeed none at all, yet I presume they were both doctors of traditions, and expounders of that which they called the oral law, in opposition to the scribes, whether amongst the Jews or the Sadducees, who employed themselves in the textual exposition of the law.
From the Talmud and Hebraica 1602-1675 1979
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But he was best known for his books which he called oral histories.
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But he was best known for his books which he called oral histories.
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But he was best known for his books which he called oral histories.
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But he was best known for his books which he called oral histories.
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But he was best known for his books which he called oral histories.
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But he was best known for his books which he called oral histories.
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