The acronym NPO means:

• A. Nothing by mouth
• B. Not permitted to take anything by mouth
• C. Nothing by mouth except meds
• D. Nothing by mouth during pregnancy

Answer: (A)

NPO means nothing by mouth. This instruction tells the patient not to swallow anything—no food or fluids—for a defined period or until a clinician says otherwise. The purpose is safety: keeping the stomach empty reduces the risk of aspiration and vomiting around procedures, anesthesia, or certain medical conditions where feeding could be hazardous.

In practice, clinicians may allow very limited exceptions (like taking a medication with a small sip of water) only when specifically ordered, but the core meaning remains no oral intake. The other phrasings introduce qualifiers or conditions (such as medications only or pregnancy) that aren’t part of the standard definition, so they don’t fit as the basic meaning of the acronym.