Definition

1. Noun:
   • A small, solid dose of medicine: A tablet is a small, hard, compressed piece of a medicinal substance, intended to be swallowed whole or chewed.
   • A small, flat, compressed cake of a substance: A tablet can be a solid, often rectangular piece of a material like soap or chocolate.
   • A set of sheets of paper fastened together: A tablet can refer to a pad of paper, typically with sheets glued or fastened at one edge.
   • A slab of stone or wood for writing or carving: Historically, a tablet is a flat piece of hard material, such as stone or clay, used for inscriptions.

Examples of Usage

• Medicine:
  • Take one tablet twice a day with food.
  • The doctor prescribed antibiotic tablets for the infection.
• Compressed Substance:
  • She bought a tablet of lavender soap.
  • The recipe calls for one tablet of compressed yeast.
• Writing Pad:
  • The student wrote her notes on a writing tablet.
  • He always carries a small tablet for sketching ideas.
• Inscribed Slab:
  • Archaeologists discovered ancient clay tablets with cuneiform writing.
  • A memorial tablet was placed on the wall.

Advanced Usage

• "Etched in stone tablets": Used metaphorically to describe rules or laws that are permanent and unchangeable.
  • These principles are not etched in stone tablets; they can be revised.
• "Digital tablet": In modern usage, this phrase refers to a portable computing device with a touchscreen, though this is a distinct compound term.
  • She uses her digital tablet for reading and drawing.

Variants and Related Words

• Tableting (n): The process of compressing powder into tablets.
• Tablet computer (n): A portable, flat computing device; a common modern compound term.

Synonyms

• Pill: (for medicine) A small, rounded mass of medicine.
• Lozenge: (for medicine) A small, often medicated candy to be dissolved in the mouth.
• Pad: (for paper) A number of sheets of paper fastened together.
• Slab: (for stone/wood) A broad, flat, thick piece of material.

Related Phrases

• Writing tablet: A pad of paper for writing.
• Stone tablet: A slab of stone bearing an inscription.

Related Idioms

• To be set in tablets of stone: To be fixed, unalterable, or permanent (often used in the negative).
  • The plan is a draft, it's not set in tablets of stone yet.

Noun

1. a dose of medicine in the form of a small pellet
2. a small flat compressed cake of some substance
   • a tablet of soap
3. a number of sheets of paper fastened together along one edge
4. a slab of stone or wood suitable for bearing an inscription