postal

American  

[pohs-tl] / ˈpoʊs tl /

adjective

1. of or relating to the post office or mail service.

   postal delivery; postal employees.

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noun

1. Informal. postal card.

idioms

1. go postal, to lose control or go crazy, especially in a violent way.

postal British  

/ ˈpəʊstəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to a Post Office or to the mail-delivery service

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Other Word Forms

• postally
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of postal

First recorded in 1835–45; post ³ def. + -al ¹; 1990–95 postal for def. 3, in reference to incidents of violence among postal workers in the early 1990s

Explanation

The term postal refers to an official, government-run mail service that delivers letters and packages right to your door or mailbox. Postal workers sort mail at post offices, sell postage stamps, collect packages to be delivered, and deliver the mail. When you're sending a package or letter to someone, you should include the correct postal code — also known as a ZIP code in the U.S. — in the address to help make sure it gets to the right place. The postal system connects people across towns, cities, and even countries by working to get letters and parcels to their intended destinations.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

postal

When the postal service first started printing stamps and recording the price in 1885, it cost 2 cents for postage on a 1-ounce letter.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 8, 2026

“It’s ghostly,” said Jan Boggs, a retired postal worker and longtime Clearwater resident.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

“We ... will continue working to ensure downtown businesses and residents have access to convenient and reliable postal services,” Mills said in a statement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said food warehouses, a postal building and a school were among the other facilities that were hit.

From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026

Doug Hansen, forty-six, was an American postal worker who’d gone to Everest with Hall in 1995 and, like Fischbeck, had reached the South Summit before turning back.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer