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postmaster general

noun, plural postmasters general.
  1. the executive head of the postal system of a country.
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Origin of postmaster general

First recorded in 1620–30
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for postmaster general

Historical Examples

  • These dies and plates are always subject to the order of the Postmaster-general.

    Christopher Columbus and His Monument Columbia

    Various

  • The design for a new postage stamp has been approved by the Postmaster-General.

  • A reference to the Postmaster-General's report for that year would give his name.

  • Mr. Mulock, the Postmaster-General, has chosen the new inaugurating stamp.

  • And has the pillory or the penitentiary been the reward of that Postmaster-general?

British Dictionary definitions for postmaster general

postmaster general

noun plural postmasters general
  1. the executive head of the postal service in certain countries
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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
postmaster general in Culture

postmaster general

The head of the United States Postal Service. Until 1970, the postmaster general was head of the federal Post Office Department and a member of the president's cabinet. In 1970, the Postal Service was set up as an independent agency in place of the Post Office Department. The Postal Service is operated like a private corporation, although postal workers receive the benefits of federal employees.

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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.