general delivery

American  

noun

1. a postal service that delivers mail to a specific post office where it is held for pickup by the addressee.

2. the postal department that handles such mail.

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general delivery British  

noun

1. an address on mail indicating that it should be kept at a specified post office until collected by the addressee

2. the mail-delivery service or post-office department that handles mail having this address

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Etymology

Origin of general delivery

An Americanism dating back to 1830–40

Example Sentences

It also will not mail pills to post office boxes or via general delivery.

From Washington Post • Jul. 6, 2022

To set up for general delivery, just about any photo identification will work, employees at the Astoria post office say.

From Washington Times • May 13, 2017

Homeless individuals can receive mail through general delivery at the post office, but it’s considered a temporary service and the mail is only held for up to 30 days.

From Washington Times • May 13, 2017

The package was general delivery, to be picked up at the store by a man named Patrick Stout.

From The Verge • Jan. 13, 2016

He said he needed to go to the post office in Salton City, fifty miles west of Niland, to which he’d asked the manager of the Bullhead McDonald’s to send his final paycheck, general delivery.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer