postage
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of postage
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.
Vocabulary lists containing postage
List 8
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -age
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for November 11–November 17, 2023
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The politicians in Washington keep trying to avoid dealing with this, since constituents hate it when postage gets more expensive or service standards change.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026
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
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
Mail carriers say they’re more than prepared to handle the increased volume in deliveries — but only if you get postage on your packages and ship them quickly.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 8, 2025
Upon landing, Columbus was to thrust his sword into the ground and claim the New World for Spain, while his men assumed positions that mimicked those depicted on a two-cent postage stamp commemorating Columbus’s discovery.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
