What does postbag mean?
A postbag is a bag used to carry letters, parcels, and other items handled by the postal service. In its most familiar sense, it is the sturdy shoulder bag traditionally carried by a postman while making deliveries. The word may also refer more generally to any bag used to transport mail. Although postbag can be understood in both British and American English, it is particularly common in British usage and in nostalgic descriptions of traditional postal services. The expression is now less frequent in everyday conversation as postal workers and mail carriers more often use carts, vehicles, and modern wheeled mail bags. Even so, it remains a useful term because it clearly identifies the bag as part of the mail-delivery system. It should not be confused with a postbag or sack intended merely to contain items being posted, nor does it have a standard antonym.
nounA sturdy bag used by a postal worker to carry letters, parcels, and other mail. The term is also used more generally for a bag in which postal items are transported.
- A bag used by a postal worker to carry letters and other mail.
- A general bag used to transport postal items.
"The postman filled his postbag with the morning's letters."
"She watched the postman disappear down the lane with his overfilled postbag."
"The parcel was placed in the postbag before the collection van arrived."
The plural is formed by adding -s to the compound word.
"The empty postbags were returned to the sorting office."
A postbag is not a bag for posting mail—it is the bag that travels with the person delivering it.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does postbag come from?
The word was formed in English by combining post, in the sense of postal mail, with bag. Its underlying element post is a borrowing through French from Latin posta, a post or station; this ultimately relates to Latin ponere, “to place or put.” The same historical root is reflected in cognates such as postage, postal, postman, and postcard.
How postbag is actually used
Most often encountered in British English and in descriptions of traditional postal delivery. It is especially associated with the traditional image of a postman carrying a shoulder bag, although the word is also used for other mail bags.
Easily confused with postbag
A mailbag is a general term for any bag used to transport mail, whereas a postbag traditionally refers to the bag carried by a postal worker.