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9 dictionary results for: Oral

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

o·ral

[awr-uh

l, ohr-] Pronunciation Key

–adjective

1.	uttered by the mouth; spoken: oral testimony.

2.	of, using, or transmitted by speech: oral methods of language teaching; oral traditions.

3.	of, pertaining to, or involving the mouth: the oral cavity.

4.	done, taken, or administered through the mouth: an oral dose of medicine.

5.	Phonetics. articulated with none of the voice issuing through the nose, as the normal English vowels and the consonants b and v.

Psychoanalysis.

a.	of or pertaining to the earliest phase of infantile psychosexual development, lasting from birth to one year of age or longer, during which pleasure is obtained from eating, sucking, and biting.

b.	of or pertaining to the sublimation of feelings experienced during the oral stage of childhood: oral anxiety.

c.	of or pertaining to gratification by stimulation of the lips or membranes of the mouth, as in sucking, eating, or talking

7.	Zoology. pertaining to that surface of polyps and marine animals that contains the mouth and tentacles.

–noun

8.	an oral examination in a school, college, or university, given esp. to a candidate for an advanced degree.

[Origin: 1615–25; < L ōr- (s. of ōs) mouth (c. Skt āsya) + -al¹

]

—Related forms

o·ral·i·ty, noun

o·ral·ly, adverb

—Usage note 1. See verbal.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

o·ral (ôr'əl, ōr'-) Pronunciation Key
adj.

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.

n. An academic examination in which questions and answers are spoken rather than written. Often used in the plural.

[Late Latin ōrālis, from Latin ōs, ōr-, mouth; see ōs- in Indo-European roots.]

o'ral·ly adv.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

O·ral (ôr'əl) Pronunciation Key
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. Population: 196,000.

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
oral

1625, from L.L. oralis, from L. os (gen. oris) "mouth, opening, face, entrance," from PIE *os-/*ous- "mouth" (cf. Skt. asan "mouth," asyam "mouth, opening," Avestan ah-, Hittite aish, M.Ir. a "mouth," O.N. oss "mouth of a river," O.E. or "beginning, origin, front"). Psychological meaning "of the mouth as the focus of infantile sexual energy" (e.g. oral fixation) is from 1910. The sexual sense is first recorded 1948, in Kinsey.

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

oral
adjective
1.	using speech rather than writing; "an oral tradition"; "an oral agreement"
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]
noun
1.	an examination conducted by spoken communication

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The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

oral (ôr'əl) Pronunciation Key

Relating to or involving the mouth.

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American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

oral o·ral (ôr'əl)
adj.

Of or relating to the mouth.
Used in or taken through the mouth.
Of or relating to the first stage of psychosexual development in psychoanalytic theory, in which the mouth is the focus of exploration and pleasure.

o'ral·ly adv.

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U.S. Gazetteer - Cite This Source - Share This

Oral, SD Zip code(s): 57766

U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census Bureau

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Oral

O"ral\, a. [L. os, oris, the mouth, akin to Skr. [=a]s. Cf. Adore, Orison, Usher.]

1. Uttered by the mouth, or in words; spoken, not written; verbal; as, oral traditions; oral testimony; oral law.

2. Of or pertaining to the mouth; surrounding or lining the mouth; as, oral cilia or cirri.

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