postal

American  

[pohs-tl] / ˈpoʊs tl /

adjective

1. of or relating to the post office or mail service.

   postal delivery; postal employees.

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noun

1. Informal. postal card.

idioms

1. go postal, to lose control or go crazy, especially in a violent way.

postal British  

/ ˈpəʊstəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to a Post Office or to the mail-delivery service

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Other Word Forms

• postally
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of postal

First recorded in 1835–45; post ³ def. + -al ¹; 1990–95 postal for def. 3, in reference to incidents of violence among postal workers in the early 1990s

Explanation

The term postal refers to an official, government-run mail service that delivers letters and packages right to your door or mailbox. Postal workers sort mail at post offices, sell postage stamps, collect packages to be delivered, and deliver the mail. When you're sending a package or letter to someone, you should include the correct postal code — also known as a ZIP code in the U.S. — in the address to help make sure it gets to the right place. The postal system connects people across towns, cities, and even countries by working to get letters and parcels to their intended destinations.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

postal

And she raised concerns about how postal workers could feasibly scrutinize hastily redesigned mail ballots from electoral jurisdictions across the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026

There are many good reasons you may not be allowed to have two homes with two separate postal addresses under local zoning rules.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026

Jackson’s proposal died in the Senate, but that did not end postal censorship of abolitionist periodicals.

From Slate ● Sep. 4, 2026

In March, postal workers from across the UK told the BBC they were being asked to move or hide mail from senior bosses so it looks like delivery targets were being met.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

Doug Hansen, forty-six, was an American postal worker who’d gone to Everest with Hall in 1995 and, like Fischbeck, had reached the South Summit before turning back.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer