tablet

UK: /ˈtæblɪt/ US: /ˈtæblɪt/ ,(tab′lit)

Inflections of 'tablet' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

tablets

v 3rd person singular

tableting

v pres p

tabletting

v pres p (Rare)

tableted

v past

tabletted

v past (Rare)

tableted

v past p

tabletted

v past p (Rare)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

tab•let /ˈtæblɪt/   n. [countable]

1. Drugs a small, flat piece of a solid, as of a drug:
   two tablets of aspirin.
2. a number of sheets of writing paper, etc., fastened together at the edge;
   pad.
3. a flat slab or surface, esp. one with an inscription on it;
   a plaque:
   clay tablets with hieroglyphics.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

tab•let  (tab′lit), n., v., -let•ed, -let•ing or -let•ted, -let•ting. 
n. 

1. a number of sheets of writing paper, business forms, etc., fastened together at the edge;
   pad.
2. a flat slab or surface, esp. one bearing or intended to bear an inscription, carving, or the like.
3. a thin, flat leaf or sheet of slate, wax-coated wood, or other rigid material, used for writing or marking on, esp. one of a pair or set hinged or otherwise fastened together.
4. tablets, the set as a whole.
5. Drugs a small, flat, or flattish cake or piece of some solid or solidified substance, as a drug, chemical, or soap.

v.t. 

6. to furnish or mark with a tablet or plaque.
7. to mark or inscribe (memoranda, notes, etc.) on a tablet.
8. Drugs to form into tablets, cakes, pellets, etc.

• Middle French tablete. See table, -et
• Middle English tablette 1275–1325

Synonyms

• 2. plaque.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

tablet / ˈtæblɪt/ noun

1. a medicinal formulation made of a compressed powdered substance containing an active drug and excipients
2. a flattish cake of some substance, such as soap
3. a sweet made of butter, sugar, and condensed milk, usually shaped in a flat oblong block
4. a thinner rigid sheet, as of bark, ivory, etc, used for similar purposes
5. (often plural) a set or pair of these fastened together, as in a book
6. a pad of writing paper
7. a handheld personal computer that is operated by touchscreen or digital pen

Etymology: 14th Century: from Old French tablete a little table, from Latin tabula a board