mail

[ meyl ]

/ meɪl /

noun

letters, packages, etc., that are sent or delivered by means of the postal system: Storms delayed delivery of the mail.

a single collection of such letters, packages, etc., as sent or delivered: to open one's mail; to find a bill in the mail; The mail for England was put on the noon plane.

Also mails. the system, usually operated or supervised by the national government, for sending or delivering letters, packages, etc.; postal system: to buy clothes by mail.

a train, boat, etc., as a carrier of postal matter.

electronic mail; email.

adjective

of or relating to mail.

verb (used with object)

to send by mail; place in a post office or mailbox for transmission.

to transmit by email.

Idioms for mail

copy the mail, Citizens Band Radio Slang. to monitor or listen to a CB transmission.

Origin of mail

1175–1225; Middle English male (noun) < Old French malle < Germanic; compare Old High German mal(a)ha satchel, bag

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH mail

mail male

Words nearby mail

maigre, maihem, maik, maiko, maikop, mail, mail bomb, mail car, mail carrier, mail drop, mail flag

Definition for mail (2 of 3)

mail ²

[ meyl ]

/ meɪl /

noun

flexible armor of interlinked rings.

any flexible armor or covering, as one having a protective exterior of scales or small plates.

Textiles. an oval piece of metal pierced with a hole through which the warp ends are threaded, serving as an eyelet on a heddle or especially on the harness cords of a Jacquard loom.

verb (used with object)

to clothe or arm with mail.

Origin of mail

1250–1300; Middle English maille one of the rings of which armor was composed < Old French < Latin macula spot, one of the interstices in a net; cf. macula

OTHER WORDS FROM mail

mail·less, adjective

Definition for mail (3 of 3)

mail ³

or maill

[ meyl ]

/ meɪl /

noun Scot.

monetary payment or tribute, especially rent or tax.

Origin of mail

before 1150; Middle English (north) mal(e), late Old English māl agreement < Old Norse māl agreement, speech, cognate with Old English mǣl speech

Example sentences from the Web for mail

He said the video was “a promotional thing” that he received in the mail at his church office.

Exposed: The Gay-Bashing Pastor’s Same-Sex Assault |M.L. Nestel |December 21, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
I knew because I rifled through his mail that terrible October morning.

I Was Gang Raped at a UVA Frat 30 Years Ago, and No One Did Anything |Liz Seccuro |December 16, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Hitchcock arrives about ten o'clock, reads his mail, and answers the few phone calls he gets.

Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days |David Freeman |December 13, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
A Daily Mail writer, wearing a facsimile of the dress, said it was sculpted to her body, but not restrictively so.

Happy 20th Birthday, Liz Hurley’s Safety-Pin Dress |Tim Teeman |December 12, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

Warne looked—in the words of the Daily Mail—“like a spooky waxwork.”

Happy 20th Birthday, Liz Hurley’s Safety-Pin Dress |Tim Teeman |December 12, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
To make our condition more lonely, the mail facilities were not what they should have been for some time.

The Indians' Last Fight |Dennis Collins
In later numbers we learn that a regular Eastern mail had not been received for three weeks.

A Short Life of Abraham Lincoln |John G. Nicolay
The mail service was wretched, he knew; but it seemed incredible that such important letters should be lost.

A Man of Two Countries |Alice Harriman
By special permission, the mail will remain open until four o'clock.

The Domestic Life of Thomas Jefferson Compiled From Family Letters and Reminiscences |Sarah N. Randolph
These Indians wore garments of bark, which they wove like cloths, and then drew on like coats of mail.

The History of Antiquity, Volume IV (of 6) |Max Duncker

British Dictionary definitions for mail (1 of 4)

mail ¹

/ (meɪl) /

noun

Also called (esp Brit): post letters, packages, etc, that are transported and delivered by the post office

the postal system

a single collection or delivery of mail

a train, ship, or aircraft that carries mail

short for electronic mail

(modifier) of, involving, or used to convey mail a mail train

verb (tr)

mainly US and Canadian to send by mail Usual Brit word: post

to contact (a person) by electronic mail

to send (a message, document, etc) by electronic mail

Derived forms of mail

mailable, adjective mailability, noun

Word Origin for mail

C13: from Old French male bag, probably from Old High German malha wallet

British Dictionary definitions for mail (2 of 4)

mail ²

/ (meɪl) /

noun

a type of flexible armour consisting of riveted metal rings or links

the hard protective shell of such animals as the turtle and lobster

verb

(tr) to clothe or arm with mail

Derived forms of mail

mail-less, adjective

Word Origin for mail

C14: from Old French maille mesh, from Latin macula spot

British Dictionary definitions for mail (3 of 4)

mail ³

/ (meɪl) /

noun

archaic, mainly Scot a monetary payment, esp of rent or taxes

Word Origin for mail

Old English māl terms, from Old Norse māl agreement

British Dictionary definitions for mail (4 of 4)

mail ⁴

/ (meɪl) /

noun

Australian informal a rumour or report, esp a racing tip

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