NEWS Health News Word of the Week: Sublingual By Team Verywell Health Published on March 14, 2022 Share Tweet Email Print Alex Dos Diaz / Verywell Each week, Verywell explains a term from health, medicine, science, or technology. Word of the Week: Sublingual How to say it: Sublingual (sub-ling-gwell) What it means: Placed under the tongue. Where it comes from: From Latin, sublingualis, (sub=under, lingualis=tongue) Oleg Magni/Pexels Where you might see or hear it: Some medications can be taken sublingually, which means you put it under your tongue and let it dissolve instead of chewing or swallowing it whole. If your doctor tells you that your medication is sublingual, it means that you will put it under your tongue. You do not need to swallow it like a pill that you would take with water. When you might want to use it: If you are talking to a new healthcare provider or pharmacist about your medications, it's important to tell them which type of medication you take. Some medications come in different forms—for example, a tablet, a liquid, or a disintegrating tab. If you take medication under your tongue, you can say that it is sublingual. How Sublingual Immunotherapy Works Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Sign up for our Health Tip of the Day newsletter, and receive daily tips that will help you live your healthiest life. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit 0 Sources Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Merriam-Webster. Definition of sublingual.