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

Streets, postage stamps and at least one former school building bear his name.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 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

Even if the corrective notices are mailed to voter households rather than individual voters, the postage alone is likely to be millions of dollars, in addition to the cost of printing the postcards.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 1, 2025

“If it’s paper you need—” “It’s postage, too. I’d have to prepay. They don’t have the money to pay at that end.”

From "Lyddie" by Katherine Paterson