oral
When used as an adjective, "oral" can refer to communication (speaking) or biology (the mouth). In a medical context, it often describes medication that is swallowed rather than injected. As a noun, "orals" is most commonly used in the plural form when referring to spoken exams in an academic setting.
💬Casual Conversation
🎬Tuesday afternoon, Jessica is frantically organizing the quarterly review schedule in her office.
Mr. Sterling
The spirit needs air. Let's scrap the reports and make every review an oral.
Jessica
I'm losing it. I can't just pivot a month of prep on a whim.
💡
Mr. Sterling uses 'oral' as a noun referring to a spoken examination/review, reflecting his eccentric preference for philosophy over paperwork. Jessica responds with the idiom 'losing it' (becoming extremely stressed/angry) and the business verb 'pivot', showing her panic at the sudden change in plans.
Meanings
adjective
Spoken rather than written.
"The students were given an oral examination to test their speaking skills."
noun
An examination conducted by spoken questions rather than written answers.
"She felt nervous about her final orals in the language course."