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labial

Pronunciation: /ˈleɪbɪəl/

Definition of labial

adjective

  • 1chiefly Anatomy relating to the lips.
  • Dentistry (of the surface of a tooth) adjacent to the lips.
  • Zoology resembling or serving as a lip, lip-like part, or labium.
  • 2 Phonetics (of a consonant) requiring partial or complete closure of the lips (e.g. p, b, f, v, m, w), or (of a vowel) requiring rounded lips (e.g. oo in moon).

noun

Phonetics
  • a labial sound.

Derivatives

labialize

(also labialise) verb
labial (sense 2 of the adjective).

labially

adverb

Origin:

late 16th century: from medieval Latin labialis, from Latin labium 'lip'

labial in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of labial in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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