What does mail mean?
Mail names both a traditional system of correspondence and the electronic messages that have largely displaced much of it. In its older sense, it refers to letters, postcards, parcels, and other objects delivered by a postal service, as well as to the service that carries them. In modern digital usage, to mail something means to send it electronically, usually by email. The expression is especially common in American English, while British speakers often use post when discussing postal services and mail when discussing email. Although its technological meaning is now highly familiar, the physical history of the word remains visible in phrases such as airmail, chain mail, junk mail, and mailbox. The word therefore links an old system of transporting written objects with the rapid, nearly instantaneous communication of the digital age.
Letters, parcels, and electronic messages sent from one person or organization to another; by extension, the postal system that carries physical correspondence.
"The museum sends a monthly newsletter by email."
The word is normally uncountable when referring to correspondence or a postal service as a whole, though mails can denote separate items or batches.
To send a message, document, or other material electronically, especially by email.
"Please mail the completed form to the address shown below."
This use is especially common in American English. British speakers also commonly use it, particularly in computing contexts.
The plural is used for separate messages, items, or batches but is uncommon when referring collectively to correspondence or the postal service.
"Several official mails were sent to different departments."
Before email, every piece of mail was something you could hold, weigh, and tear open.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does mail come from?
The word ultimately traces to Old English māl, meaning a bag or pack, and cognate forms with that meaning existed across Germanic languages. Middle English forms such as male and mail were used for a bag or container, a development that led to the sense of a bag or collection of letters and the later postal meaning of correspondence delivered by post. The electronic verb meaning developed much later, following the establishment of email and other forms of network transmission in the late 20th century.
Related word forms
How mail is actually used
In British English, post is often preferred for the postal system, while mail is commonly used for electronic messages. The verb mail is especially frequent in American English; British speakers also use email, though this usage is not exclusive to them. As a modifier, mail occurs in established compounds such as mail delivery, mail order, and voice mail.
Easily confused with mail
Mail means correspondence or a postal delivery system, whereas a male is a person or animal characterized as belonging to the sex typically associated with reproductive anatomy.
Mail denotes correspondence or something sent electronically, while a meal is food eaten at a particular time.