orally

adverb

oral·​ly ˈȯr-ə-lē How to pronounce orally (audio)
ˈär-
1
: in spoken words : by means of speech
The exam will be given orally.
an orally presented argument
Deaf, signing parents will "babble" to their infants in sign, just as hearing parents do orally; this is how the child learns language …Oliver Sacks
2
: by way of the mouth
The medicine can be administered orally.
Another example is amygdalin, which is found in the pits of peaches and apricots. If consumed orally, it is approximately 40 times more toxic than by intravenous injection …Des W. Connell

Examples of orally in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
There are a few forms of testosterone, including pellets injected under the skin, pills taken orally, and topical gels and creams. Angela Haupt, TIME, 19 Feb. 2025 Literary historian Paul Zumthor argues that poetry with a purely oral tradition in that era invoked an open discourse, while written poetry, still communicated orally, made up a closed discourse. David Silverberg, JSTOR Daily, 29 Jan. 2025 Her granddaughter Cassie Owens hopes to inherit the glasses — a physical documentation of their family, a lineage that includes at least two enslaved ancestors, a history that has been passed down orally. Rukmini Callimachi, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2025 But importantly, few studies have looked at whether cannabis extract, ingested orally, could be genotoxic on its own. Emily Earlenbaugh, Forbes, 30 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for orally

Word History

First Known Use

1608, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of orally was in 1608

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Cite this Entry

“Orally.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/orally. Accessed 1 Mar. 2025.

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