addressee

[ad-re-see, uh-dre-see]

noun

1. the person, company, or the like to whom a piece of mail is addressed.

addressee

/ ˌædrɛˈsiː /

noun

1. a person or organization to whom a letter, parcel, etc, is addressed

2. a person who is addressed in conversation, a speech, a poem, etc

Word History and Origins

Origin of addressee¹

An Americanism dating back to 1670–80; address + -ee

Example Sentences

In such a case, the apparent addressee is not the real addressee: the teacher is trying to pass on information indirectly to one or more other students.

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“However, I think the main addressee of Kirill’s messages is Putin. Kirill, through these messages, communicates to Putin: I am with you.”

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“Needless to say the addressee was quite startled when they opened the box,” Port Chester police wrote on Facebook.

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Its wrapping bears a postmark of May 11, 1965, and the sender and addressee are the same: Lewis Reed.

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“Here we go,” he said before slicing into an envelope with a return address on Queens Boulevard in New York, marked “Personal and confidential — to be opened by addressee only.”

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Related Words

• denizen 
• dweller 
• holder 
• incumbent 
• inhabitant 
• renter 
• resident 
• tenant