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• mail order
  mail order

  noun

  an order for goods received or shipped through the mail.
• mail-order
  mail-order

  adjective

  pertaining to or obtained by mail order.

mail order

¹ American  

noun

1. an order for goods received or shipped through the mail.

2. the business of selling merchandise through the mail.

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mail-order ² American  

[mayl-awr-der] / ˈmeɪlˌɔr dər /

adjective

1. pertaining to or obtained by mail order.

   a dozen mail-order rosebushes.

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verb (used with object)

1. to order (merchandise) by mail.

   to mail-order fruitcakes for Christmas.

mail order British  

noun

1. an order for merchandise sent by post

2. 1. a system of buying and selling merchandise through the post

   2. ( as modifier )

      a mail-order firm

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Etymology

Origin of mail order¹

An Americanism dating back to 1865–70

Origin of mail-order²

First recorded in 1865–70

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mail order mail-order

Rosalba worked in the accounting department of a mail order catalog company and later helped her husband run a mechanic shop in Granada Hills.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2026

To determine whether a pharmacy service was mail order, in-person or another type, the analysis used the classification listed in the record of each prescription.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 27, 2025

Known as the Soundhouse Tapes, the three-track demo gained them a cult following, selling 5,000 copies by mail order.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2024

Colonna Brothers of North Bergen, N.J., is recalling 1.5-ounce Ground Cinnamon and 2.25-ounce Supreme Tradition Ground Cinnamon distributed nationwide and through mail order.

From Salon ● Mar. 8, 2024

He had quit my Aunt Mary’s by then and was working for the McCoy Publishing Company, a mail order business that supplied emblems, aprons, and books to the Masonic Order.

From "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother" by James McBride

The Pleasant Co. began as a mail-order business; within a few months, orders were well ahead of their initial targets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026

A London shop catering for people who are left-handed was doing a brisk trade both in-store and via mail-order.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

But in between, Charlotte, now 43, says they fought over who got the first look at the mail-order catalogs that, at the time, were the first to cater specifically to a tween and teen-girl audience.

From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026

Critics say their role negotiating pricing and discounts with drug companies has made some medicines less affordable, while at the same time parent companies of large PBMs also own mail-order, specialty, or retail pharmacies.

From Barron's ● May 5, 2026

I head down the steps to see if my mail-order copy of The Catcher in the Rye is in the box.

From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett

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