What does postcode mean?
A postcode is an alphanumeric code used in a postal address, most characteristically in the United Kingdom, to help route mail and identify an address. It is normally written as one word and consists of an outward code, which identifies a postal area, followed by an inward code, usually three characters, that identifies a delivery point. The term is also understood in the United States, although postal code is the ordinary general and American label; post code occurs as a variant spelling. In everyday British English, postcode can stand for the entire address-identification system rather than only its final component. It appears constantly in forms, signs, delivery instructions, databases, and comparisons of where people live. Although code may suggest something secretive, a postcode is practical and public: it organizes geographic information so that letters, parcels, emergency services, and other services can locate a place efficiently.
An alphanumeric code used as part of a postal address to identify a geographic area and, in systems such as the United Kingdom postcode, a delivery point.
"The delivery form asks for your postcode, street address, and town."
Chiefly British in ordinary use; American English generally uses postal code.
To assign or mark something with a postal code.
"The software automatically postcodes each address before validation."
Rare and chiefly found in administrative, technical, or data-processing contexts.
The standard plural form is used when referring to multiple postal codes or identifying codes.
"The database contains postcodes for more than two million addresses."
Split a British postcode down the middle: the outward code identifies a postal area, while the inward code identifies a delivery point.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does postcode come from?
Postcode is a compound of post, in the sense of postal delivery or the postal system, and code, meaning a systematic sequence of letters or numbers. The word developed in twentieth-century British English as ordinary address terminology, although both components have older histories: post entered English through French poste, from Latin posta, while code came through French code from Latin codex, meaning “book.” Related forms such as postal, postage, and postcard preserve the postal root, whereas codify belongs to the codex-derived side of the compound.
Related word forms
How postcode is actually used
The noun is standard in British English and understood in American English, although postal code is much more common in the United States. The verb is rare and occurs chiefly in administrative, technical, or data-processing contexts.
Easily confused with postcode
In British usage, postcode is the standard term, while postal code is the more general and international wording and is the usual term in American English.