Meaning & use
snail mail
Last updated
UK/ˈsneɪl meɪl/
US/ˈsneɪl meɪl/
Meaning
noununcountableinformalhumorous
Ordinary paper letters sent by the postal service, called this because they are slow compared with email.
Grammar: No plural or article: I sent it by snail mail.
Patterns
- by snail mail
- send something by snail mail
I'll send the invitation by snail mail, since Grandma has no email.
Nobody writes snail mail anymore except for birthday cards.
The contract arrived by snail mail three days late.
Common combinations
- by snail mail
- Please send the form by snail mail.
- send snail mail
- She still likes to send snail mail to friends abroad.
- snail mail address
- Can I have your snail mail address too?
- receive snail mail
- I rarely receive snail mail that isn't a bill.
Synonyms and how they differ
- post
- Post is the neutral British word for mail and carries no joking tone.
- regular mail
- Regular mail is neutral and polite, while snail mail jokes about slowness.
- hard copy
- Hard copy means a printed version of a document and does not refer to postal delivery.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: snail mail or email?
snail mail vs email
Email travels instantly by computer, while snail mail is physical paper delivered by a carrier.
Practice
Why do people say snail mail?
Choose one answer.
The snail comparison highlights slowness relative to email. It has nothing to do with origin, secrecy or stamps.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “snail mail”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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