post - mail

The public service by which letters and parcels are collected and delivered is usually called the post in British English and the mail in American English. Mail is also sometimes used in British English, for example in the name `Royal Mail'.

There is a cheque for you in the post.

Winners will be notified by post.

Your reply must have been lost in the mail.

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British speakers usually refer to the letters and parcels delivered to them on a particular occasion as their post. American speakers refer to these letters and parcels as their mail. Some British speakers also talk about their mail.

They read their bosses' post.

I started to read my mail.

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British speakers talk about posting a letter or parcel. Americans usually say that they mail it.

Some of the letters had been posted.

...the magazine that her friend had mailed to her.

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Some words connected with the sending of letters are the same in both American and British English, for example `post office', `postcard', `postmaster', `mailbag', and `mail order'. Otherwise, British and American speakers use different words to refer to the same person or thing. For example, a man who brings letters and parcels to your house is called a `postman' in British English and a `mailman' in American English.

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◊ 'postage'

Note that you do not use post or mail to refer to the amount of money that you pay to send a letter or parcel. In both British and American English, this money is called postage.

Send 25p extra for postage and packing.

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◊ other meanings of 'post'

Post has several other meanings which are not connected with sending letters or parcels. For example, a person's job is sometimes referred to as his or her post. For more information about this meaning, see entry at ↑ position - post.

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