Jump To:

• zip code
  zip code

  noun

  a system used in the U.S. to facilitate the delivery of mail, consisting of a five- or nine-digit code printed directly after the address, the first five digits initial code indicating the state and post office or postal zone, the last four expanded code the box section or number, portion of a rural route, building, or other specific delivery location.
• zip-code
  zip-code

  verb (used with object)

  to provide or mark with a zip code.

zip code

¹ American  

Or ZIP code,

noun

zip codes plural

1. a system used in the U.S. to facilitate the delivery of mail, consisting of a five- or nine-digit code printed directly after the address, the first five digits initial code indicating the state and post office or postal zone, the last four expanded code the box section or number, portion of a rural route, building, or other specific delivery location.

---

zip-code ² American  

[zip-kohd] / ˈzɪpˌkoʊd /

Or ZIP-code,

verb (used with object)

zip-coded, zip-coding

1. to provide or mark with a zip code.

   Zip-code all mail.

---

zip code British  

noun

1. the US equivalent of postcode

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• zip codes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of zip code

An Americanism first recorded in 1960–65, Z(one) I(mprovement) P(rogram)

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

zip code zip-code zip-coded

By the time the Masters teed off, McIlroy could’ve dropped a ball anywhere in that zip code and been ready to hit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026

“There’s a supply-and-demand dynamic that sometimes produces counterintuitive results,” said Samir Shah, chief executive of CareScout, which has a tool that is searchable by zip code to help pinpoint cost estimates.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 4, 2026

"Our zip code is dictating our health, and plastics therefore are a major environmental justice issue, because these are communities of color and low-income communities," Enck said.

From Barron's ● Jan. 22, 2026

Once registered - using their name, email and zip code - fans will be entered into the random draw for time slots to buy tickets in April.

From BBC ● Jan. 14, 2026

Mom says my hair lives in its own zip code.

From "Blended" by Sharon M. Draper

Testing in five other areas by HUD has shown that determining rents on a zip-code basis actually decreases costs, because reduced overpayments in poor areas more than compensated for higher rents elsewhere.

From Economist ● Nov. 29, 2017

"I would ask the computer to pull up the accounts in a certain zip-code area, or if I wanted all the customers who were interested in whole office systems, I could pull that up too."

From Time Magazine Archive

Postmaster General John Gronouski got his 2,000 cards out early, remembered to zip-code each and every one.

From Time Magazine Archive

Action Lines unmask unscrupulous repairpersons, humble haughty bureaucrats, chasten heartless computers, stay the hands of overeager credit companies, track lost merchandise to the ends of the zip-coded universe and locate spare parts for Polish-built refrigerators.

From Time Magazine Archive