oral
part of speech
adjective (oral); noun (an oral, orals — an oral exam, UK)
meaning for a pupil
1) Oral means spoken, not written: an oral test or an oral report is done by talking. tree →
2) Oral means to do with the mouth: oral hygiene is keeping your mouth and teeth clean. tree →
3) Oral medicine is taken by mouth, swallowed, not injected. tree →
4) (UK, noun) An oral is a speaking exam, especially in a foreign language. tree →
sense in the lessons
At school it names speaking tasks («oral presentation», «oral French exam»). In health lessons «oral health» means teeth and gums. In history, «oral history» is history told by people speaking about their memories. Phrases: «oral exam», «oral report», «oral history», «oral hygiene», «oral tradition», «by mouth (orally)».
examples
- We have an oral exam in French next week, so I am practising speaking. tree →
- Brushing twice a day is good oral hygiene. tree →
- Take this oral medicine with a glass of water. tree →
- My oral presentation was about volcanoes. tree →
- Many old stories were passed down in an oral tradition before they were written. tree →
- We recorded Grandma's oral history of growing up on a farm. tree →
- The dentist checks your oral health. tree →
note
Adverb: orally (take orally = swallow it). Do not confuse with «aural», which means to do with hearing; they sound almost the same. «Verbal» is often used to mean spoken too.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «oral» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.