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 church spokeswoman did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment on Monday.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 17, 2025

"American citizens do not surrender our constitutional rights just because Ofcom sends us an e-mail," Preston Byrne of law firm Byrne & Storm said.

From BBC • Aug. 27, 2025

“I’m really worried about getting out there and having to check it. The phones I’m caught up with, but the e-mail might be pretty deadly.”

From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini