Post Office Protocol

[ pohst aw-fis proh-tuh-kawl, proh-tuh-kol, of-is ]

noun

, Computers.

1. a set of standards for retrieving email from a server so that the recipient can access it: allows offline access to the emails, but not synchronization of a mailbox across multiple devices. : POP. Compare IMAP ( def ), SMTP ( def ).

Word History and Origins

Origin of Post Office Protocol¹

First recorded in 1985–90