postage

American  

[poh-stij] / ˈpoʊ stɪdʒ /

noun

1. the charge for the conveyance of a letter or other matter sent by mail, usually prepaid by means of a stamp or stamps.

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postage British  

/ ˈpəʊstɪdʒ /

noun

1. 1. the charge for delivering a piece of mail

   2. ( as modifier )

      postage charges

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Etymology

Origin of postage

First recorded in 1580–90; post ³ + -age

Explanation

Postage is the cost of sending something in the mail. If the postage for mailing your brother's collection of porcelain pigs is too high, you might want to bring them with you when you drive to his house instead. Use the noun postage for the expense of mailing letters and packages, or for the stamps themselves: "Don't forget to attach the postage before you put that in the mailbox!" Some people, in fact, refer to them as "postage stamps." Postage comes from post, "mail system": early mail carriers were "posted" along a road, like a relay race, to speed delivery.

Example Sentences

The analogy is shrinking a 4K image to the size of a postage stamp — except the picture is still 4K.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 6, 2026

Since then, everything has gone up dramatically in cost—from the price of a postage stamp or slice of pizza to the cost of a home or college tuition.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026

She said a friend in the UK sent her a box of gluten-free goods each month which "ends up being cheaper, even including the postage" compared to buying the products in Guernsey.

From BBC • Feb. 23, 2026

The championships are considered a major cultural event in the Netherlands, even featuring special postage stamps with the logo of a ladle and potato masher.

From Barron's • Feb. 19, 2026

We were standing outside the post office when the local magistrate, a white man in his sixties, approached Paul and asked him to go inside to buy him some postage stamps.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela