mailbox

American  

[meyl-boks] / ˈmeɪlˌbɒks /

noun

1. a public box in which mail is placed for pickup and delivery by the post office.

2. a private box, as at a home, into which mail is delivered by the mail carrier.

3. Computers. a file for storing electronic mail.

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mailbox British  

/ ˈmeɪlˌbɒks /

noun

1. 1. a slot, usually covered with a hinged flap, through which letters, etc are delivered to a building

   2. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): letter box.  a private box into which letters, etc, are delivered

2. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): postbox.  a public box into which letters, etc, are put for collection and delivery

3. (on a computer) the directory in which e-mail messages are stored; also used of the icon that can be clicked to provide access to e-mails

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Etymology

Origin of mailbox

First recorded in 1800–10; mail ¹ + box ¹

Example Sentences

A trip to the mailbox could become a tumbledown Niagara Falls.

From The Wall Street Journal

That means a letter dropped in a mailbox on Monday could be postmarked on Wednesday, if that was the day it got to a processing facility.

From The Wall Street Journal

"I have to say that when I saw a letter in the mailbox, my heart would lift. Every letter just had those threads of 'you are so wonderful'," she says.

From BBC

“We’re hoping they throw it on the grass, toss it on the porch, or put it in the mailbox, whatever it is,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

The auxiliary’s Facebook page also encouraged residents to hang blue ribbons outside homes, mailboxes, fences and porches—“for our hometown soldier.”

From The Wall Street Journal