noun
-
a system for sending messages to one or more recipients via telecommunications links between computers using dedicated software or a web-based service.
Communication by email is almost instantaneous.
-
a message sent by email.
Send me an email about that idea, and I'll get back to you.
-
an address at which a person can receive email messages.
He’s got my phone number and email in case he needs to contact me.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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emailsimple
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emailssimple
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have emailedperfect
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has emailedperfect
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am emailingprogressive
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are emailingprogressive
-
is emailingprogressive
-
have been emailingperfect progressive
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has been emailingperfect progressive
Past
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emailedsimple
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had emailedperfect
-
was emailingprogressive
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were emailingprogressive
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had been emailingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of email
First recorded in 1975–80; e(lectronic) + mail 1
Explanation
Email is an electronic message that's sent from one computer to another. When you receive good news in an email, you can forward the message to your friends and family. Most email these days uses the Internet for connecting the sender and recipient. Unlike some other kinds of messaging, when you send an email to a friend, she doesn't have to be online at the same time to get your message. The next time she checks her email account, your email will be waiting for her. Email, sometimes spelled e-mail, is short for electronic mail, and was coined in the early 1980s.
Vocabulary lists containing email
Computer Science and Technology - Introductory
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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.
See Examples For:
Soon after, the underwriter received a performance email raising concerns about his refusal to approve the loan: “Collaboration challenges: some interactions have felt resistant, making teamwork difficult.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
In an email response to The Times, a spokesperson with the Department of Homeland Security rejected the report’s findings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
And I want to hear from you, so email me at [email protected] to let me know what you want to see covered.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
The previous year, the suit claimed, hackers created an email account impersonating a photographer, and persuaded a digital technician to send them unreleased photos that belonged to Grande.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
He lifted the top, and the Start a Fundraising Page with my name and email address loaded onto the screen.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has also been reviewing the allegations, the people and emails reviewed by the Journal said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
The furthest-flung food mentioned in the buffet of emails I received was Lau lau, Hawaii’s pork-and-fish dish that is wrapped and steamed in taro leaves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Local outlets say mosques have been receiving abusive phone calls and emails, some of which has prompted anti-hate groups to organise counter protests calling for no hate.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
The emails also suggest she took her daughters along for lunch with him in Miami, days after his release from prison.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
The promises he got from various doctors and dignitaries, whether they were kept or not, were a testimony to his charm and persistence, and would be followed up with Farmer’s calls, letters, and emails.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
Luria said in emailed comments that concerns about China’s advanced technology developments “may be more relevant to the Korean companies,” because most U.S. companies are prohibited from selling to Chinese customers.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
This morning, I actually squealed when the library emailed to say my hold on “The Wind in the Willows”—a book I first read in sixth grade—was ready for pickup.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
Three days later, according to the lawsuit, Cleland received an emailed notice that her Global Entry/TSA Pre-check had been revoked by Homeland Security.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Someone posing as a company employee emailed the director to request an electronic transfer instead.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Although I’d dodged Thomas’s weekly phone call and still hadn’t emailed him back, I didn’t know where else to turn.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
That’s a passive-aggressive approach that looks like this: sending the boss updates every 30 minutes, asking questions you already know the answer to and emailing summaries of every minor meeting or interaction.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
At least two long-time Apple workers who left the company to join OpenAI allegedly took part in this pattern by, in part, emailing themselves internal Apple information.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
Gordon has become somewhat of a coordinator, voraciously researching the latest academic literature and frequently emailing authors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
At the journal I work for, it’s not uncommon to spend a month emailing a dozen or more people asking for a review.
From Slate ● May 3, 2026
They were “smart” because they could do so many things beyond calling, like texting, emailing, surfing the Internet, playing games.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
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.
