letterbox

American  

[let-er-boks] / ˈlɛt ərˌbɒks /

noun

letterboxes plural

1. Chiefly British. Also letter box a public or private mailbox.

2. Digital Technology, Television. a technique for displaying a wide-screen film or landscape video on a narrower screen by reducing its size but retaining the aspect ratio, with black bands filling the screen above and below the picture (often used attributively).

   letterbox videos.

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verb (used with object)

1. Digital Technology, Television. to display (a film or video) by using the letterbox technique.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• letterboxes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of letterbox

First recorded in 1765–75; letter ¹ ( def. ) + box ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

letterbox letterboxes

A woman is shouting through a letterbox to friends inside a house: "The pastor is here, I promise you it is safe."

From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026

Both take cash - the honesty box has envelopes and a letterbox for change.

From BBC ● Nov. 8, 2025

William Newbury, 22, said he was dropping off baby presents to a friend at her boyfriend's house in Llanrumney, Cardiff, on Mother's Day when he saw the "nightmare" attack through their letterbox.

From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2025

A 24-year-old car cloning victim has told how he ended up dreading the morning post after fines demanding thousands of pounds started to pour through his letterbox.

From BBC ● Apr. 10, 2025

But it occurs to me that I’ve never seen the real Adam Tok—just the letterbox view from the top of the eyebrows to the bottom of the lower lip.

From "Linked" by Gordon Korman

She said her mum told her "the money's not yours" and blocked her number, before later claiming in court it had been posted through the girls' letterboxes.

From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2025

Ms Flanagan said that during the summer holiday after her final year of school - while her friends were preparing to go to university - she was posting flyers through letterboxes for her cleaning business.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2022

I’ve told my workers to be strict with what they sell and who to, but they aren’t changing their behaviour much, other than offering to post through letterboxes and accept bank transfers from trusted customers.

From The Guardian ● Mar. 28, 2020

Nobody’s going to flay you to death just for barking offers of money through the letterboxes of recently bereaved parents, or trawling for offensive tweets with your free hand.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 22, 2018

For I could not help laughing at the idea that even the letterboxes had to enjoy their Sabbath rest.

From Recollections of My Childhood and Youth by Brandes, Georg Morris Cohen