envelope

noun en·ve·lope \ ˈen-və-ˌlōp , ˈän- \

|Updated on: 6 Jun 2018

Usage guide: How do you pronounce envelope?

Definition of envelope

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

See envelope defined for English-language learners

See envelope defined for kids

How do you pronounce envelope?

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.

Recent Examples of envelope from the Web

Trends this year include automakers stretching the envelope with designs that would’ve been reserved for nonproduction concept cars a few years ago, Wards managing editor Tom Murphy said.

— mark phelan, Detroit Free Press, "These 10 new cars and trucks have the best interiors," 27 May 2018
Some of the envelopes contained gifts, according to the indictment.

— rachel weiner, Washington Post, "Chinese spies promised to take care of ex-CIA officer for life, prosecutors say," 18 May 2018
It’s been reported that 2XU’s staff waited at the store for nearly an hour and no one came, not even Estelle (who would literally come to the opening of an envelope)!

— danielle young, The Root, "Bad Publicity Only Works for the Kardashians," 15 May 2018
The stamps and adhesive areas of the envelopes were also tested about 10 years ago, but the DNA indicators were too small to be considered useful.

— kevin fagan, San Francisco Chronicle, "Zodiac murder case: Police taking another look at DNA evidence," 3 May 2018
Investigators also were able to match the fingerprints on the envelopes with Warren’s fingerprints in a federal registry, police said.

— martin e. comas, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Police use saliva to arrest Casselberry man on voter-fraud charges," 3 May 2018
You're given a little envelope with two or three to get you through that particular trip.

— Fox News, "'Dragon energy': Kanye tweets his support of Trump," 26 Apr. 2018
There was a time in my life when the pull of that envelope would’ve been impossible to resist.

— amy chozick, Glamour, "I Put Off Having a Baby to Cover Hillary Clinton's Campaign—and I Don't Regret It," 24 Apr. 2018
Even a back-of-the-envelope look at the trillions of dollars this group of Latina women collectively steward is a remarkable benchmark.

— ellen mcgirt, Fortune, "raceAhead: The Fifty Most Powerful Latinas in Business," 19 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'envelope.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of envelope

circa 1714

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Other Paper Terms

folio, palimpsest, quire, ream

ENVELOPE Defined for English Language Learners

envelope

noun

Definition of envelope for English Language Learners

: an enclosing cover for a letter, card, etc.

ENVELOPE Defined for Kids

envelope

noun en·ve·lope \ ˈen-və-ˌlōp , ˈän- \

Definition of envelope for Students

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

Medical Dictionary

envelope

noun en·ve·lope \ ˈen-və-ˌlōp , ˈän- \

medical Definition of envelope

: 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, October 1988