printed matter

American

noun

any of various kinds of printed material that qualifies for a special postal rate.
a classification of international mail consisting of such items, including catalogs and circulars.

Etymology

Origin of printed matter

First recorded in 1875–80

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.

In addition he seems to regularly pore over all kinds of printed matter, tracking down or coming across the odd bit of ephemera that may have a use that only he can see.

From New York Times • Oct. 4, 2023

DD: It was a piece of printed matter.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 13, 2023

That’s a beautiful theme, and there’s a wonderful novel about that theme trapped in this great ordeal of printed matter.

From Washington Post • Oct. 12, 2022

It is the reason we have the Library of Congress and the reason the government still subsidizes the mailing of printed matter.

From Slate • Aug. 28, 2018

At the legation the interests of the American missionaries with regard to their schools and their printed matter formed the major portion of the affairs requiring my immediate attention.

From Under Four Administrations From Cleveland to Taft by Straus, Oscar S.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023