mail /meɪl/noun 19verb 5forms 3phrases 2 noun19 •the letters and packages that people send to each other through the post officeDon't forget to pick up the mail on your way. •(US) The letters, parcels, etc. delivered to a particular address or person.It should be in your mail today, unless the post office lost it! •Email messages conceived in bulk (as with the analogous sense of physical mail).You've got mail [old audio clip announcing new email in the 1990s-2000s] •(India) An email message.Please look through those mails and confirm whether you received the one about scheduling. •The postal service or system in general.He decided to send his declaration by mail. •Electronic mail, e-mail: a computer network–based service for sending, storing, and forwarding electronic messages.Yahoo Mail has been providing mail service since 1997. •Armour consisting of metal rings linked together.The knight is laid in his mail, only the hands and face being bare. — 1853 •Armour consisting of small plates linked together. •Any hard protective covering of an animal, as the scales and plates of reptiles, shell of a lobster, etc.We […] strip the lobster of his scarlet mail. — 1716 •A bag containing letters to be delivered by post. •(old-fashioned) A stagecoach, train or ship that delivers such post.All trains stop at all stations, with the exception of a few "local" stations near Mombasa and an odd flag stop or two usually missed by the mails. — 1950 •A bag or wallet. •A trunk, box, or bag, in which clothing, etc., may be carried.“Fetch me the little private mail with the padlocks, that I recommended to your particular charge — d'ye hear?” — 1819 •(Scotland) A monetary payment or tribute. •(Scotland) Rent. •(Scotland) Tax. •A contrivance of interlinked rings, for rubbing off the loose hemp on lines and white cordage. •(historical) An old French coin worth half a denier. •(no longer used, rare) A spot on a bird's feather; by extension, a spotted feather.[T]he moorish-fly: made with the body of duskish wool; and the wings made of the blackish mail of the drake. — 1676 verb5 •To send (a letter, parcel, etc.) through the mail. •To send by electronic mail.Please mail me the spreadsheet by the end of the day. •To contact (a person) by electronic mail.I need to mail my tutor about the deadline. •To arm with mail. •To pinion. formsmailed · mailing · mails Phrases with mail carry the mailTo work diligently; to serve as the principal performer of a demanding task or set of tasks. mail it inTo deliver a performance without commitment or effort, with lackluster results.
