poste restante
Americannoun
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a direction written on mail to indicate that it should be held at the post office until called for by the addressee.
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Chiefly British. a department in charge of such mail.
noun
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(not in the US and Canada) an address on mail indicating that it should be kept at a specified post office until collected by the addressee
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the mail-delivery service or post-office department that handles mail having this address
Etymology
Origin of poste restante
1760–70; < French: literally, standing post
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.
Leisurely two-sided correspondences were difficult to sustain, with Chatwin roving from one poste restante to the next.
From New York Times ● Feb. 25, 2011
I told him that he reasoned well; but that, should the chapter change such a resolution, my address would be found at Vienna, poste restante, till the 20th of the following month.
From A Bibliographical, Antiquarian and Picturesque Tour in France and Germany, Volume Three by Dibdin, Thomas Frognall
It is no matter where you stay," he said; "I shall write to you at the poste restante.
From The Holladay Case A Tale by Stevenson, Burton Egbert
The lad begs me to answer his letter immediately; poste restante, Marseilles; and I want you, my dear Thekla, to do this for me.
From A Noble Name or D?nninghausen by Gl?mer, Claire Von
She gave him several louis-d'or to supply his immediate wants, and told him to write a letter containing news of himself every week, addressed to the initial B., poste restante.
From A Twofold Life by Hillern, Wilhelmine von
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
