e-mail

British  

/ ˈiːmeɪl /

noun

1. short for electronic mail

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verb

1. to contact (a person) by electronic mail

2. to send (a message, document, etc) by electronic mail

e-mail Scientific  

/ ē′māl′ /

1. A system for sending and receiving messages electronically over a computer network. E-mail is asynchronous and does not require the receiver of the message to be online at the time the message is sent or received. E-mail also allows a user to distribute messages to large numbers of recipients instantaneously.

2. A message or messages sent or received by such a system.

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e-mail Cultural  

1. E-mail has become one of the most widely used aspects of the Internet, because it provides a means of mass communication to almost anywhere in the world at high speed.

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Discover More

The proliferation of spam and the transmission of computer viruses through e-mail attachments are two of the more problematic aspects of this technology.

Other Word Forms

• e-mailer
  noun

Example Sentences

On 26 January, staff in an office in Mumbai received an urgent e-mail from a crew member aboard a tanker off the coast of Singapore.

From BBC • Feb. 10, 2026

Updates to the file were then made over the phone, and not discussed via e-mail, according to Higgins.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 28, 2026

A Los Angeles County district attorney’s office employee was “wrongfully detained” by federal immigration agents on Friday, according to an internal e-mail obtained by The Times.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 17, 2026

"He'll e-mail and say, 'I don't know where to stay tonight. Can I come over?'"

From BBC • Nov. 7, 2025

“I’m going to e-mail last week’s sweep direct to your visor. Luckily there’s a video card in all the new helmets.”

From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer