What does airmailing mean?
Airmailing refers to the act of sending letters, documents, or parcels by air transport rather than by slower surface routes such as ship or road. It functions as the present participle and gerund of the verb 'airmail', so it can describe an ongoing action ('she is airmailing the contract') or the activity in general ('airmailing was expensive in the early twentieth century'). The word carries a slightly nostalgic, mid-century flavour: airmail itself revolutionised communication after the First World War, shrinking delivery times between continents from weeks to days, but the rise of email and international couriers has made the term less common in everyday speech. It remains current in postal services, e-commerce shipping options, and contexts where physical documents must cross borders quickly. Related forms include the noun 'airmail', the adjective 'airmailed', and phrases such as 'send by air'. For anyone dealing with international post, airmailing remains a precise, useful term for the fastest traditional way to move paper around the globe.
verb (present participle/gerund)The act of sending a letter or parcel by airmail, i.e. via aircraft rather than surface transport; also, the present participle of the verb 'airmail', meaning to dispatch mail by air.
- Sending letters or parcels by air transport (the act or process).
- The present participle of the verb 'airmail': dispatching something by airmail right now or habitually.
"She was airmailing the documents to London so they would arrive within two days."
"He spent the afternoon airmailing birthday cards to relatives overseas."
"The firm is airmailing the signed contract so it arrives before Friday's deadline."
Before jet-age airmailing, a letter from Europe to Australia could take months by sea — air mail cut that to days and made the world feel suddenly smaller.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of airmailing
The word derives from 'airmail', a compound of 'air' (from Latin 'aer', via Greek 'aēr') and 'mail' (from Old French 'male', a bag for carrying letters, ultimately of Germanic origin). Airmail as a service emerged in the early twentieth century with the advent of powered flight, and the verb followed naturally. Cognate terms sharing the 'air' element include 'aeroplane', 'aerial', and 'airborne', all reflecting the same root sense of relating to the atmosphere or flight.
Related word forms
How airmailing is actually used
Somewhat old-fashioned in register today, since physical airmail has largely been replaced by email and courier services; still used in postal and commercial contexts. The gerund form 'airmailing' is less common than the base verb 'airmail'.
Easily confused with airmailing
'Emailing' is sending messages electronically over the internet, whereas 'airmailing' is physically sending paper mail via aircraft.