mail

mail¹ W3S3 [meıl] n [U]

[Sense: 1-3; Date: 1200-1300; : Old French; Origin: male 'bag']

[Sense: 4; Date: 1200-1300; : French; Origin: maille, from Latin macula 'spot, woven threads']

1.) the letters and packages that are delivered to you

▪ She's been reading my private mail.

▪ When he got to the office he found a mountain of mail waiting for him.

▪ He promised to forward my mail to my new address. (=send it from my old home or office)

▪ He gets sacks of fan mail . (=letters from people who admire him and are his fans)

hate mail

(=letters from people saying that they hate you)

2.) especially AmE the system of collecting and delivering letters and packages

British Equivalent: post

▪ The mail here's really slow and unreliable.

▪ The product will be sold mainly through the mail.

in the mail

▪ I'll put the check in the mail tomorrow.

by mail

▪ Did you send the document by mail?

registered/express/first-class etc mail

▪ I sent my application by registered mail.

▪ Most reports are sent via internal mail (=a system of sending documents to people inside the same organization) .

3.) messages that are sent and received on a computer

= ↑email

▪ You should always check your incoming mail (=messages that you receive) every day.

▪ Please read the mail message for information on the error.

4.) ↑armour made of small pieces of metal, worn by soldiers in the Middle Ages

→↑voice mail

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WORD FOCUS: mail

things that people send: letter, postcard, package also parcel (BrE), junk mail

ways of sending mail: first class/second class (BrE), airmail, surface mail, special delivery

the person who delivers your mail: postman/postwoman (BrE), mailman (AmE), letter carrier (AmE)

the place where you buy stamps, send letters and packages etc: post office

the place where you put letters and packages: postbox (BrE) mailbox (AmE)

the place where you receive letters and packages: letterbox (BrE) mailbox (AmE)

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mail ²

mail² S3 v [T] especially AmE

1.) to send a letter or package to someone

British Equivalent: postmail sth to sb

▪ The weekly newsletter is mailed to women all over the country.

2.) to send a document to someone using a computer

= ↑email mail sth to sb

▪ Can you mail it to me as an attachment?

mail out [mail sth<=>out] phr v

to send letters, packages etc to a lot of people at the same time

= ↑send out

▪ The department has just mailed out 300,000 notices.