What does mailbox mean?
A mailbox is a physical container for postal mail, usually installed at a home or business so that letters and other deliveries can be placed inside. The word also has a computing sense: an area of a mail system where electronic messages are stored. In ordinary conversation, mailbox usually refers to the physical object, and it often suggests a place where personal correspondence accumulates, whether or not the mail is read. The term can be distinguished from postbox, which is generally a public box for posting outgoing letters, and from inbox, which is the usual digital term for newly received email. Together, these meanings show how the word connects the physical delivery of written messages with the storage and management of electronic communication. In American legal and administrative contexts, “mailbox rule” also refers to principles determining when mailed items are considered delivered or when responsibility passes to a recipient.
nounA box or receptacle in which mail, especially letters, is delivered or placed for collection. In computing, the term can also denote a storage area for electronic mail.
- A physical box or receptacle for receiving mail, especially letters delivered by a postal service.
- A storage area in an electronic mail system in which messages are held for the user.
"The postman put the letter through the slot in our mailbox."
"There was a thick stack of advertisements in the mailbox this morning."
"Her mailbox is full of messages from online services she no longer uses."
The regular plural is mailboxes, with the final x pronounced as /ks/.
"The row of mailboxes stands beside the entrance."
A mailbox is where the written word waits to be noticed—and, in the digital world, it became the place where every message lands before being opened.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does mailbox come from?
Mailbox is a compound formed in English from mail and box. The word mail ultimately derives from Old English māl, referring to a bag, bundle, or collection of letters, while box comes from Old English box, a container made from wood or another material. The compound developed as a literal name for a container for postal mail, with the electronic-mail sense arising later as mail systems adopted the vocabulary of physical correspondence.
Related word forms
How mailbox is actually used
In everyday British English, a public postal receptacle is more often called a postbox. The computing sense is established but is less common than inbox for the place where new messages first arrive.
Easily confused with mailbox
A postbox is a public receptacle for posting letters, whereas a mailbox is typically associated with a particular home or business.
A mailbox can be a physical container for postal mail, while an inbox is the electronic equivalent where received email messages are stored.