mail

¹ American  

[meyl] / meɪl /

noun

1. letters, packages, etc., that are sent or delivered by means of a postal system.

   Storms delayed delivery of the mail.

2. a single collection of such letters, packages, etc., as sent or delivered.

   to open one's mail; to find a bill in the mail; The mail for England was put on the noon plane.

3. Often mails a system, usually operated or supervised by the national government, for sending or delivering letters, packages, etc.; a postal system: Some people don't trust the mails.

   The travel brochures arrived by mail.

   Some people don't trust the mails.

4. a train, boat, etc., as a carrier of postal matter.

5. email.

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adjective

1. of or relating to mail.

verb (used with object)

1. to send by mail, as by placing in a mailbox; transmit by a postal system.

2. to transmit by email.

verb (used without object)

1. to be sent by a postal system.

   Tax forms are mailing today.

2. to transmit messages by email.

   We only mail to people who sign up on our website.

idioms

1. copy the mail, to monitor or listen to a CB transmission.

mail ² American  

[meyl] / meɪl /

noun

1. flexible armor of interlinked rings.

2. any flexible armor or covering, as one having a protective exterior of scales or small plates.

3. Textiles. an oval piece of metal pierced with a hole through which the warp ends are threaded, serving as an eyelet on a heddle or especially on the harness cords of a Jacquard loom.

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verb (used with object)

1. to clothe or arm with mail.

mail ³ American  

[meyl] / meɪl /

Or maill

noun

Scot.

1. monetary payment or tribute, especially rent or tax.

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mail ¹ British  

/ meɪl /

noun

1. Also called (esp Brit): post.  letters, packages, etc, that are transported and delivered by the post office

2. the postal system

3. a single collection or delivery of mail

4. a train, ship, or aircraft that carries mail

5. short for electronic mail

6. (modifier) of, involving, or used to convey mail

   a mail train

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verb

1. Usual Brit word: post.  to send by mail

2. to contact (a person) by electronic mail

3. to send (a message, document, etc) by electronic mail

mail ² British  

/ meɪl /

noun

1. a type of flexible armour consisting of riveted metal rings or links

2. the hard protective shell of such animals as the turtle and lobster

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verb

1. (tr) to clothe or arm with mail

mail ³ British  

/ meɪl /

noun

1. archaic a monetary payment, esp of rent or taxes

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mail ⁴ British  

/ meɪl /

noun

1. informal a rumour or report, esp a racing tip

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Other Word Forms

• mail-less
  adjective
• mailability
  noun
• mailable
  adjective
• mailless
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of mail¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English noun mal(l)e, mail(e), maille “bag, pouch,” from Old French mal(l)e “peddler's basket, trunk, mail coach,” from Germanic; compare Old High German mal(a)ha “satchel, bag”; verb derivative of the noun

Origin of mail²

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English maille, maill(e) “one of the rings of which armor was composed,” from Old French mail(l)e, male, from Latin macula “spot, one of the interstices in a net, a mesh”; cf. macula

Origin of mail³

First recorded before 1150; Middle English mol(e), moul, male, late Old English māl “lawsuit, legal action, agreement,” from Old Norse māl “speech, stipulation, legal case, agreement,” cognate with Old English mǣl “speech, conversation” and mæthel “assembly, meeting”

Explanation

Mail is anything that's delivered to your mail box or post office box — letters, bills, packages, magazines, or anything else that's sent through the postal service. Email is the internet's version of mail. Mail carriers' bags are full of mail, and the system that allows this mail to be delivered all over the world is also called the mail. As a verb, to mail something is to send it via this system: when you write a letter, address and stamp it, and put it in a mailbox, you mail it. Mail is also the name for a type of light armor made of interlocking metal rings. If you read a novel about a knight wearing mail, he's wearing this type of armor — he's not covered in letters!

Example Sentences

John Wyatt: The reason we had a snail mail list is because a lot of people at that time didn’t have an email.

From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026

For $249, patients can order the test and mail in a swab, and after a few weeks they receive a GLP-1 “effectiveness score.”

From MarketWatch • May 18, 2026

With those who had a telehealth medication abortion, 43 percent said that telehealth made it possible for them to have a timely abortion, as the medicine is frequently delivered by mail.

From Salon • May 15, 2026

Alabamians had already been voting by mail for five weeks.

From Slate • May 12, 2026

Ever since receiving the first postcard from Mom, I’ve volunteered to check the mail every day.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller