Meaning & use
postbox
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Meaning
nouncountableBritish
A public box in the street where you put letters to be collected and delivered.
Grammar: Countable: a postbox, two postboxes. In American English, 'mailbox' is used for this and for a box at home.
Patterns
- put a letter in a postbox
- post a letter in a postbox
I dropped the birthday card into the postbox on my way to work.
The red postbox at the corner has been there for over a hundred years.
Could you tell me where the nearest postbox is?
Word forms
| plural | postboxes |
|---|
Common combinations
- put something in a postbox
- She put the letter in the postbox and walked away.
- post a letter in a postbox
- In Britain you often post a letter in a postbox rather than hand it to a person.
- red postbox
- The red postbox is a familiar sight in British villages.
- nearest postbox
- He asked a passerby where the nearest postbox was.
Synonyms and how they differ
- mailbox
- Mailbox is the usual American word for both a public collection box and a box at home; in British English, mailbox often means the one at your house.
- letterbox
- Letterbox usually means the slot in a door where mail is delivered, not the public box where you post letters.
Word family
Commonly confused: postbox or mailbox? postbox or letterbox?
postbox vs mailbox
In British English, a postbox is the public box on the street, while a mailbox is usually the private box at your home. In American English, mailbox covers both.
postbox vs letterbox
A letterbox is the opening in a door for mail, not a free-standing public box.
Practice
In British English, where would you go to post a letter?
Choose one answer.
In British English, a postbox is the public box on the street for posting letters. A letterbox is the slot in a door, and mailbox usually refers to a private box at home. A postcard is a card you send, not a place.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “postbox”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.