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• post office
  post office

  noun

  an office or station of a government postal system at which mail is received and sorted, from which it is dispatched and distributed, and at which stamps are sold or other services rendered. PO, P.O.
• Post Office
  Post Office

  noun

  a government department or authority in many countries responsible for postal services and often telecommunications

post office

American  

[pohst aw-fis, of-is] / ˈpoʊst ˌɔ fɪs, ˌɒf ɪs /

noun

1. an office or station of a government postal system at which mail is received and sorted, from which it is dispatched and distributed, and at which stamps are sold or other services rendered. PO, P.O.

2. Often Post Office the department of a government charged with the transportation of mail.

3. an old-fashioned game in which one player is designated “postmaster” or “postmistress” and calls another player of a different gender into an adjoining room, ostensibly to receive a letter but actually to receive a kiss.

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Post Office ¹ British  

noun

1. a government department or authority in many countries responsible for postal services and often telecommunications

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post office ² British  

noun

1. a building or room where postage stamps are sold and other postal business is conducted

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Other Word Forms

• post-office
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of post office

First recorded in 1645–55

Example Sentences

Standing in front of the post office in Alhambra, the 52-year-old paddled her arms as though to keep from sinking.

From Los Angeles Times • May 17, 2026

Seema Misra who ran a post office in West Byfleet, Surrey, was wrongly sent to prison while pregnant during the IT scandal.

From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026

Anyone dropping off their ballot at a post office on election day should get it postmarked at the counter, she said.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 4, 2026

The post office would maintain its own list of people “who are enrolled with the USPS, pursuant to a process specified in the rulemaking.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

We had never been inside the post office.

From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff

Related Words

• postal service