o·ral / ˈôrəl/ • adj. 1. by word of mouth; spoken rather than written: they had reached an oral agreement. ∎  relating to the transmission of information or literature by word of mouth rather than in writing: oral literature. ∎  (of a society) not having reached the stage of literacy.2. of or relating to the mouth: oral hygiene. ∎  done or taken by the mouth: oral contraceptives. ∎  Phonet. pronounced by the voice resonating in the mouth, as the vowels in English. Compare with nasal (sense 2). ∎  Psychoanalysis (in Freudian theory) relating to or denoting a stage of infantile psychosexual development in which the mouth is the main source of pleasure and the center of experience.• n. (often orals) a spoken examination or test: he was preparing for his orals a French oral.DERIVATIVES: o·ral·ly adv.

oral pert. to the mouth or to speech. XVII. — late L. ōrālis, f. L. ōs, ōr- mouth; see -AL1.

oral (or-ăl) adj.
1. relating to the mouth.

2. taken by mouth: applied to medicines, etc.

oral Pertaining to the mouth.

oral Pertaining to the mouth.