What does airmailed mean?
Airmailed is the past tense of the verb 'airmail', meaning that something — typically a letter, document, or small parcel — was sent by air rather than by slower surface transport such as ship or train. The word belongs to the vocabulary of international correspondence, where speed mattered: an airmailed letter could cross an ocean in days instead of weeks. It is most often encountered in phrases like 'the contract was airmailed to London' or 'she airmailed the photographs home'. Although email and express couriers have made the term less common than it was in the mid-twentieth century, it remains perfectly intelligible and retains a slightly formal, official flavour associated with postal services, customs forms, and overseas business. For writers of historical fiction or anyone describing pre-digital communication, 'airmailed' is a precise and evocative choice.
verb (past tense and past participle of 'airmail')Sent or transported by airmail, i.e. by aircraft rather than by surface post; the past tense of the verb 'airmail', meaning to send a letter or parcel via air postal service.
- To have sent (a letter, document, or parcel) by airmail — by aircraft rather than surface transport.
"She airmailed the contract to the Tokyo office so it would arrive within two days."
"He airmailed the manuscript to his publisher in New York."
"The visa documents were airmailed overnight to avoid missing the deadline."
Before jet-age airmail, a letter from London to Australia could take months by sea — 'airmailed' once meant your words travelled faster than anything else on Earth.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of airmailed
The word derives from 'airmail', a twentieth-century compound of 'air' (from Latin 'aer', itself from Greek 'aēr') and 'mail' (from Old French 'male', a travelling bag for letters, ultimately of Germanic origin). Airmail services emerged after the First World War, when surplus aircraft were adapted for carrying post, and the verb followed naturally. Cognates sharing the 'air' root include 'aerial' and 'aviation'; the 'mail' root also underlies related postal terms.
Related word forms
How airmailed is actually used
'Airmail' as a verb is somewhat dated, having declined with the rise of email and courier services, but it remains understood and appears in formal, commercial, and postal contexts. The past form 'airmailed' is used like any regular verb: 'was airmailed', 'had been airmailed'. It carries a slightly old-fashioned, official tone.
Easily confused with airmailed
'Mailed' refers to sending by any postal method, while 'airmailed' specifically indicates dispatch by air transport.