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postage-stamp

[poh-stij-stamp]
adjective Informal.
  1. of very small area or size: a postage-stamp bikini.
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Origin of postage-stamp

First recorded in 1960–65

postage stamp

noun
  1. a small gummed label issued by postal authorities that can be affixed to an envelope, postcard, or package as evidence that postal charges have been paid.
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Origin of postage stamp

First recorded in 1830–40
Also called stamp.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for postage-stamp

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • What is the difference between a naughty boy and a postage-stamp?

  • The fort of Malmaison was a minute square, not as large as a postage-stamp.

    High Adventure

    James Norman Hall

  • He wished to reduce himself to the substance of a postage-stamp.

  • The boy who sent the postage-stamp to the Calabrian is the one who pleases me best of all.

    Cuore (Heart)

    Edmondo De Amicis

  • When the waiter answered the bell I asked for a glass of milk and a postage-stamp.

    The Woman in Black

    Edmund Clerihew Bentley

British Dictionary definitions for postage-stamp

postage stamp

noun
  1. a printed paper label with a gummed back for attaching to mail as an official indication that the required postage has been paid
  2. a mark directly printed or embossed on an envelope, postcard, etc, serving the same function
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012