Meaning & use
postmark
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Meanings
nouncountable
An official mark printed on mail that shows the place and date the postal service handled it.
Grammar: Countable: one postmark, two postmarks; often used with 'a' or 'the'.
Patterns
- a postmark on something
- the postmark reads something
- be dated by the postmark
The envelope had a clear postmark from Boston dated May 12.
Collectors pay high prices for letters with rare postmarks.
You can prove when you mailed it by keeping the postmark.
verbtransitive
To print an official mark on a piece of mail showing where and when it was handled.
Grammar: Takes an object: postmark the envelope; very often used in the passive: the letter was postmarked June 3.
Patterns
- postmark something
- be postmarked with something
- be postmarked a date
The clerk postmarked each envelope before dropping it in the sack.
Entries must be postmarked by midnight on April 30.
The package was postmarked in Chicago two days ago.
Word forms
| plural | postmarks |
|---|---|
| third person singular | postmarks |
| past tense | postmarked |
| past participle | postmarked |
| -ing form | postmarking |
Common combinations
- a clear postmark
- The stamp was valuable because of the clear postmark.
- be postmarked by a date
- Applications must be postmarked by March 1.
- a postmark from a place
- She kept the card because it had a postmark from Paris.
- collect postmarks
- He collects postmarks from small island post offices.
- the postmark reads
- The postmark reads 'Denver, 9 p.m.'
Synonyms and how they differ
- stamp
- A stamp is the small label you buy and stick on mail; a postmark is the ink mark the postal service prints over it.
- cancellation
- In philately, a cancellation is the mark that voids the stamp; a postmark is the same kind of mark, especially when it shows place and date.
Word family
- postmarked adjective
- Having an official postal mark, as in 'a postmarked envelope'.
- postmarking noun
- The act of stamping mail with an official mark.
Commonly confused: postmark or trademark? postmark or stamp?
postmark vs trademark
A trademark is a legally protected brand name or logo; a postmark is the postal stamp on mail. The words sound similar but mean very different things.
postmark vs stamp
A stamp is what you buy and attach; the postmark is printed by the post office, often over the stamp.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'postmark' correctly?
Choose one answer.
As a verb, 'postmark' means the postal service prints the official mark, so the passive 'was postmarked in Rome' fits. Option 1 reverses the order of events, option 3 confuses the postmark with a stamp you buy, and option 4 treats it as a purchasable item.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “postmark”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.