♦ mail /m'eɪl/ (mails mailing mailed)
1 [N-SING] the N, also by N
The mail is the public service or system by which letters and parcels are collected and delivered.
Your check is in the mail...
The firm has offices in several large cities, but does most of its business by mail.
= post
2 [N-UNCOUNT] also the N
You can refer to letters and parcels that are delivered to you as mail.
There was no mail except the usual junk addressed to the occupier...
= post
3 [VERB] V n to n, V n n, V n with n, also V n
If you mail a letter or parcel to someone, you send it to them by putting it in a post box or taking it to a post office. (mainly AM; in BRIT, usually use post)
Last year, he mailed the documents to French journalists...
He mailed me the contract...
The Government has already mailed some 18 million households with details of the public offer.
4 [VERB] be V-ed prep, also V n
To mail a message to someone means to send it to them by means of e-mail or a computer network.
...if a report must be electronically mailed to an office by 9 am the next day.
[N-UNCOUNT]
Mail is also a noun.
If you have any problems then send me some mail.
5
see also mailing, chain mail, electronic mail, electronic mail, hate mail, junk mail, surface mailchain mail
[N-UNCOUNT]
Chain mail is a kind of armour made from small metal rings joined together so that they look like cloth.di|rect mail
[N-UNCOUNT] oft N n
Direct mail is a method of marketing which involves companies sending advertising material directly to people who they think may be interested in their products. (BUSINESS)
...efforts to solicit new customers by direct mail and television advertising...elec|tron|ic mail
[N-SING]
Electronic mail is the same as e-mail.hate mail
also hate-mail
[N-UNCOUNT]
If someone receives hate mail, they receive unpleasant or threatening letters.junk mail
[N-UNCOUNT]
Junk mail is advertisements and publicity materials that you receive through the post or by e-mail which you have not asked for and which you do not want.mail merge
[N-UNCOUNT]
Mail merge is a word processing procedure which enables you to combine a document with a data file, for example a list of names and addresses, so that copies of the document are different for each person it is sent to. (COMPUTING)
He sent every member of staff a mail-merge letter wishing them a merry Christmas!mail or|der (mail orders)
1 [N-UNCOUNT] oft by N, N n
Mail order is a system of buying and selling goods. You choose the goods you want from a company by looking at their catalogue, and the company sends them to you by post.
The toys are available by mail order from Opi Toys...
2 [N-COUNT] usu pl
Mail orders are goods that have been ordered by mail order. (mainly AM)
I supervise the packing of all mail orders.mail out
[PHRASAL VERB] V P n (not pron), also V n P
If someone mails out things such as letters, leaflets, or bills, they send them to a large number of people at the same time. (mainly AM; in BRIT, use send out)
This week, the company mailed out its annual report.
= send outsnail mail
[N-UNCOUNT]
Some computer users refer to the postal system as snail mail, because it is very slow in comparison with e-mail.sur|face mail
[N-UNCOUNT]
Surface mail is the system of sending letters and parcels by road, rail, or sea, not by air.voice mail
[N-UNCOUNT]
Voice mail is a system of sending messages over the telephone. Calls are answered by a machine which connects you to the person you want to leave a message for, and they can listen to their messages later.
1 [N-SING] the N, also by N
The mail is the public service or system by which letters and parcels are collected and delivered.
Your check is in the mail...
The firm has offices in several large cities, but does most of its business by mail.
= post
2 [N-UNCOUNT] also the N
You can refer to letters and parcels that are delivered to you as mail.
There was no mail except the usual junk addressed to the occupier...
= post
3 [VERB] V n to n, V n n, V n with n, also V n
If you mail a letter or parcel to someone, you send it to them by putting it in a post box or taking it to a post office. (mainly AM; in BRIT, usually use post)
Last year, he mailed the documents to French journalists...
He mailed me the contract...
The Government has already mailed some 18 million households with details of the public offer.
4 [VERB] be V-ed prep, also V n
To mail a message to someone means to send it to them by means of e-mail or a computer network.
...if a report must be electronically mailed to an office by 9 am the next day.
[N-UNCOUNT]
Mail is also a noun.
If you have any problems then send me some mail.
5
see also mailing, chain mail, electronic mail, electronic mail, hate mail, junk mail, surface mailchain mail
[N-UNCOUNT]
Chain mail is a kind of armour made from small metal rings joined together so that they look like cloth.di|rect mail
[N-UNCOUNT] oft N n
Direct mail is a method of marketing which involves companies sending advertising material directly to people who they think may be interested in their products. (BUSINESS)
...efforts to solicit new customers by direct mail and television advertising...elec|tron|ic mail
[N-SING]
Electronic mail is the same as e-mail.hate mail
also hate-mail
[N-UNCOUNT]
If someone receives hate mail, they receive unpleasant or threatening letters.junk mail
[N-UNCOUNT]
Junk mail is advertisements and publicity materials that you receive through the post or by e-mail which you have not asked for and which you do not want.mail merge
[N-UNCOUNT]
Mail merge is a word processing procedure which enables you to combine a document with a data file, for example a list of names and addresses, so that copies of the document are different for each person it is sent to. (COMPUTING)
He sent every member of staff a mail-merge letter wishing them a merry Christmas!mail or|der (mail orders)
1 [N-UNCOUNT] oft by N, N n
Mail order is a system of buying and selling goods. You choose the goods you want from a company by looking at their catalogue, and the company sends them to you by post.
The toys are available by mail order from Opi Toys...
2 [N-COUNT] usu pl
Mail orders are goods that have been ordered by mail order. (mainly AM)
I supervise the packing of all mail orders.mail out
[PHRASAL VERB] V P n (not pron), also V n P
If someone mails out things such as letters, leaflets, or bills, they send them to a large number of people at the same time. (mainly AM; in BRIT, use send out)
This week, the company mailed out its annual report.
= send outsnail mail
[N-UNCOUNT]
Some computer users refer to the postal system as snail mail, because it is very slow in comparison with e-mail.sur|face mail
[N-UNCOUNT]
Surface mail is the system of sending letters and parcels by road, rail, or sea, not by air.voice mail
[N-UNCOUNT]
Voice mail is a system of sending messages over the telephone. Calls are answered by a machine which connects you to the person you want to leave a message for, and they can listen to their messages later.