letterbox

[ let-er-boks ]

/ ˈlɛt ərˌbɒks /

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See synonyms for letterbox on Thesaurus.com

noun

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

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.Compare pan and scan, pillarbox (def. 1).

verb (used with object)

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

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Origin of letterbox

First recorded in 1765–75; letter¹ + box¹

Words nearby letterbox

let someone have it, Lett, letted, letter, letter bomb, letterbox, letterboxing, letter-card, letter carrier, letter drop, lettered

How to use letterbox in a sentence

The lid flew back, and we pressed forward, and each ran his hand down into the letterbox.
In the Fog|Richard Harding Davis
Among them I expected to see a letterbox; but there was nothing that looked like despatches.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 67, No. 411, January 1850|Various
The front door should have a knocker and a letterbox, and around both the door and the windows should be imitation framework.
What Shall We Do Now?: Five Hundred Games and Pastimes|Dorothy Canfield Fisher
He felt in the letterbox, drew forth a letter, and with this he went back to the sitting-room.
The Island Pharisees|John Galsworthy

There must be a rural delivery, and if so, at the gate would be a letterbox.
The Rest Hollow Mystery|Rebecca N. Porter

British Dictionary definitions for letterbox

letter box

noun mainly British

a slot, usually covered with a hinged flap, through which letters, etc, are delivered to a building
a private box into which letters, etc, are delivered

Also called: postbox a public box into which letters, etc, are put for collection and delivery

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012