email

American  

[ee-mayl] / ˈiˌmeɪl /

Or e-mail

noun

• emails
  plural

1. a system for sending messages to one or more recipients via telecommunications links between computers using dedicated software or a web-based service.

   Communication by email is almost instantaneous.

2. a message sent by email.

   Send me an email about that idea, and I'll get back to you.

3. an address at which a person can receive email messages.

   He’s got my phone number and email in case he needs to contact me.

---

verb (used with object)

• emails,
  present (3rd person singular)
• emailed,
  past participle,  past
• emailing
  present participle

1. to send (a message or file) to (a person or organization) by email: I emailed the company but haven’t heard back yet.

   He emailed his response to the invitation.

   I emailed the company but haven’t heard back yet.

verb (used without object)

• emails,
  present (3rd person singular)
• emailed,
  past participle,  past
• emailing
  present participle

1. to send an email; communicate by email or exchange emails: We emailed back and forth for three weeks before actually meeting.

   She emailed to say she’ll be on vacation next week.

   We emailed back and forth for three weeks before actually meeting.

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• emails
  plural

Participles

• emailing
  present
• emailed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• email
  simple
• emails
  simple
• have emailed
  perfect
• has emailed
  perfect
• am emailing
  progressive
• are emailing
  progressive
• is emailing
  progressive
• have been emailing
  perfect progressive
• has been emailing
  perfect progressive

Past

• emailed
  simple
• had emailed
  perfect
• was emailing
  progressive
• were emailing
  progressive
• had been emailing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will email
  simple
• will have emailed
  perfect
• will be emailing
  progressive
• will have been emailing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of email

First recorded in 1975–80; e(lectronic) + mail ¹

Explanation

Email is an electronic message that's sent from one computer to another. When you receive good news in an email, you can forward the message to your friends and family. Most email these days uses the Internet for connecting the sender and recipient. Unlike some other kinds of messaging, when you send an email to a friend, she doesn't have to be online at the same time to get your message. The next time she checks her email account, your email will be waiting for her. Email, sometimes spelled e-mail, is short for electronic mail, and was coined in the early 1980s.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

email emails emailed emailing

Even if someone steals or guesses your password, they can’t access your camera without an extra code sent to your phone or email, or supplied by an authentication app.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026

“Dr. Williams has always maintained that he was acting i self-defense,” Libman wrote in an email.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

Reacting to the publication of that email, transport committee convener Willie Rennie told BBC Scotland Flynn was "only making things worse for himself".

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

Post your questions, weigh in on the latest Moneyist columns or email The Moneyist on [email protected].

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026

I opened the email Thomas had sent last week.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas

He offered to buy $1.5 million in downtown properties to help close the gap, emails show.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

A "ministerial engagement briefing" issued ahead of the transport committee's meeting on 9 September showed two emails sent to Flynn at 08:48 and 09:04.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

Transport Scotland said the documents released this week "made clear" Flynn had "not been briefed on the issue" before his committee appearance, and the emails sent to his office had not been shared with him.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

But the back and forth, part of a tranche of hundreds of messages, emails and letters reviewed by the Journal, raises new questions about the activities of one of America’s most high-profile ambassadors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

“Dr. Zinchenko? How many emails have we received on this same subject?”

From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein

Automating Walmart’s warehouses “takes time, hard work, and a strong partnership defined by trust,” said Symbotic CEO Rick Cohen in an emailed statement.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

In Luria’s view, “OpenAI is actually accelerating as it catches up with Anthropic at the enterprise market,” he said in emailed comments Thursday.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

The online retailer has emailed customers apologising for the "unauthorised push notification" containing an external link, adding that they should disregard the message and not click on it.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

We emailed back, asking for clarity and noting we had already uploaded the inspection reports.

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026

I haven’t heard from Blue at all, and I haven’t emailed him either.

From "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda" by Becky Albertalli

“I’ve got kids in Seattle, in Nashville, in Dallas that are emailing me and going, please bring it here,” she explained.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

I thought of one 64-year-old woman named Johna, with whom I had been emailing.

From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026

She says she first spoke to police in 2019, but then heard nothing about the case until 2023, despite emailing them many times.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

Or, tell us how portals have been a benefit in your healthcare by emailing [email protected] and we might include your experience in a future story.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

It wasn’t like I’d been emailing him every day, and when I had emailed, it had always been about how things were going wrong.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas