What does mailsack mean?
A mailsack is a bag or pouch used to carry mail, especially letters and other postal items. It is closely associated with the work of postal workers, who traditionally used large sacks to move correspondence between collection points, sorting offices, and delivery routes. The word also has a well-established military sense: a substantial canvas bag used to transport mail to and from service personnel. In everyday conversation, mailsack may sound old-fashioned, while mailbag is often more familiar, but the compound remains clear and useful because it conveys both the container and its customary purpose. Its association with dependable, practical transport gives it a distinctive place in postal and military vocabulary.
nounA bag or pouch used for carrying mail, especially by postal workers. In military contexts, a mailsack may be a substantial canvas bag used to transport letters and other postal items.
- A bag or pouch used for carrying mail, especially by a postal worker.
- A large canvas bag used in the military to carry mail and other postal items.
"The postman emptied the letters from his mailsack into the sorting room."
"A tired postal worker returned to the depot with a heavy mailsack."
"The soldiers gathered around the officer as he opened the incoming mailsack."
The regular plural is formed by adding -s.
"Several empty mailsacks were stacked beside the sorting machine."
A mailsack has long been a postal workhorse—and in the military, it has carried letters across some of the world’s most demanding terrain.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does mailsack come from?
Mailsack is an English compound formed from mail and sack. The word developed as a practical name for a bag used in the collection and transport of correspondence, with the military sense developing from that general postal usage.
How mailsack is actually used
The term is somewhat old-fashioned and evokes traditional postal delivery and military mail services. In modern general use, mailbag or postbag may sound more familiar, depending on region and context.
Easily confused with mailsack
A mailsack is a portable bag for carrying mail, while a mailbox is a fixed or wall-mounted receptacle for depositing mail.
Both terms can refer to a bag used by postal workers, but mailsack is more often associated with a large canvas or military-style bag.