airmail

or air-mail

[ air-meyl ]

noun

1. the system, especially a government postal system, of sending mail by airplane.
2. a letter, package, etc., sent by this system.
3. a stamp authorizing delivery of mail by this system.

adjective

1. of or relating to airmail.

adverb

1. by airmail:

   Send all overseas letters airmail.

verb (used with object)

1. to send via airmail:

   I airmailed the package yesterday.

airmail

/ ˈɛəˌmeɪl /

noun

1. the system of conveying mail by aircraft
2. mail conveyed by aircraft

adjective

1. of, used for, or concerned with airmail

verb

1. tr to send by airmail

Word History and Origins

Origin of airmail¹

First recorded in 1910–15; air ¹ + mail ¹( def )

Example Sentences

The first motorized mail delivery began in the early 1900s in Baltimore organized by Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock, who also pioneered airmail.

From Washington Post

The bed was airmailed, wrapped like a big holiday gift, including sheets, pillows, and pillowcases, from a small town in New Jersey to the capital of the Soviet Union.

From Washington Post

What was America supposed to do after Pearl Harbor, put the keys to the Golden Gate in an airmail envelope and send them to Tojo?

From The Daily Beast

In the early days of airmail, a system of coast-to-coast arrows pointed the way for pilots.

From The Daily Beast

But as the Roaring Twenties approached, a new, faster method of parcel delivery was burgeoning: airmail.

From The Daily Beast

I would like to airmail it right away, but you Americans overload the mails at Christmas, so it would be safer to wait.

From Project Gutenberg

But is the overseas airmail so crowded you wouldn't trust a parcel to the regular mail system?

From Project Gutenberg

The disappearance of two airmail pilots leads to a mystery that centers about an abandoned mine and a strange old man.

From Project Gutenberg

The first envelope was addressed to Lee Harvey Oswald, airmail.

From Project Gutenberg

The next night there were five letters, two of which had been sent airmail.

From Project Gutenberg