envelope
noun
en·ve·lope
ˈen-və-ˌlōp 
ˈän-
ˈän-
1
: a flat usually paper container (as for a letter)
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 2008, when Apple took the very first MacBook Air out of a manila envelope, it was not positioned as Apple's new entry-level Mac laptop.
—
Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 23 Sep. 2025
That day, the sentencing memo says a clerk at the federal courthouse in Anchorage received a manila envelope with Summerlin’s former name on it and opened it, finding wires inside, the sentencing memo says.
—Julia Marnin, Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 2025
Within 30 minutes, Facebook users helped Davis track down the envelope’s rightful owner, according to an update within the post.
—Abigail Adams, PEOPLE, 19 Sep. 2025
The case of the mysterious envelope has attracted a huge wave of interest across the country, with all major Czech media covering the event and social media full of speculation about the contents of the letter.
—Jack Guy, CNN Money, 17 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for envelope
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Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 23 Sep. 2025
That day, the sentencing memo says a clerk at the federal courthouse in Anchorage received a manila envelope with Summerlin’s former name on it and opened it, finding wires inside, the sentencing memo says.
—Julia Marnin, Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 2025
Within 30 minutes, Facebook users helped Davis track down the envelope’s rightful owner, according to an update within the post.
—Abigail Adams, PEOPLE, 19 Sep. 2025
The case of the mysterious envelope has attracted a huge wave of interest across the country, with all major Czech media covering the event and social media full of speculation about the contents of the letter.
—Jack Guy, CNN Money, 17 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for envelope
Cite this Entry
“Envelope.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/envelope. Accessed 29 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
envelope
noun
en·ve·lope
ˈen-və-ˌlōp
ˈän-
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-
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
William A. Haseltine et al., Scientific American Love words? Need even more definitions?
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