envelope

noun

en·​ve·​lope ˈen-və-ˌlōp  ˈän- 

1

: a flat usually paper container (as for a letter)

2

: something that envelops : wrapper

the envelope of air around the earth

3

a

: the outer covering of an aerostat

b

: the bag containing the gas in a balloon or airship

4

a

: a natural enclosing covering (such as a membrane, shell, or integument)

b

: a lipoprotein unit membrane that forms the outer layer of some virions

5

a

: a curve tangent to each of a family of curves

b

: a surface tangent to each of a family of surfaces

6

: a set of performance limits (as of an aircraft) that may not be safely exceeded

also : the set of operating parameters that exists within these limits

7

: a conventionally accepted limit

new computers that push the envelope

How do you pronounce envelope?: Usage Guide

The \ˈen-\ and \ˈän-\ pronunciations are used with about equal frequency, and both are fully acceptable, though the \ˈän-\ version is sometimes decried as "pseudo-French." Actually \ˈän-\ is exactly what one would expect to hear when a French word like entrepreneur is becoming anglicized. Envelope, however, has been in English for nearly 300 years, plenty of time for it to become completely anglicized and for both of its pronunciations to win respectability.

Examples of envelope in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In the video, a man, dressed in black clothes with a gray scarf, black hat and white shoes, could be seen walking up to the porch with no hesitation, bending down and swiping a white envelope before turning to walk away. —Kimberlee Speakman, Peoplemag, 17 Apr. 2024

The letters often come in white envelopes attached to religious pamphlets. —Angie Orellana Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024

The set comes with eight letters and colorful envelopes. —Maya Polton, Parents, 11 Apr. 2024

PolitiFact has looked at claims regarding fentanyl and accidental overdoses before, when envelopes containing unknown substances were sent to elections officials in 2023. —Laura Schulte, Journal Sentinel, 29 Mar. 2024

Cena, who carried a large envelope, technically wasn’t totally in the nude, obviously. —Alli Rosenbloom, CNN, 12 Mar. 2024

Like students at Hogwarts waiting to see which house they'd been assigned, the couple nervously opened the envelope, hoping to see their dream location. —Madeline Gunderson, USA TODAY, 29 Mar. 2024

Pennsylvania officials recently redesigned the outer envelopes for the mail-in ballots to try to remind voters to write the current date under their signatures. —Hansi Lo Wang, NPR, 27 Mar. 2024

Separate staff members then review the ballots, stamp them with Woodall's initials and complete the assembly process by making sure each prepared envelope has a ballot. —Journal Sentinel, 21 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1714, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing envelope

• back-of-the-envelope
• floral envelope
• pay envelope
• push the envelope
• return envelope
• window envelope

Kids Definition

envelope

noun

en·​ve·​lope ˈen-və-ˌlōp  ˈän- 

1

: a flat usually paper container (as for a letter)

2

: something that envelops

3

: the bag containing the gas in a balloon or airship

4

: a natural enclosing covering (as a membrane)

Medical Definition

envelope

noun

en·​ve·​lope ˈen-və-ˌlōp  ˈän- 

: a natural enclosing covering (as a membrane or integument)

especially : a lipoprotein unit membrane that forms the outer layer of some virions and surrounds the viral capsid

These glycoprotein complexes, swept up by the budding virus as it acquires its envelope, are crucial to HIV's ability to infect new cells.

—William A. Haseltine et al., Scientific American