snail mail

noun

1

informal : mail delivered by a postal system especially when contrasted with email : mail sense 1a

I avoid using e-mail to complain. I use the phone or old-fashioned snail mail.

—Arlene Silverman

2

informal : a nation's postal system : mail sense 2

The others have taken the traditional route: sending checks by snail mail.

—Stephen Gandel

Synonyms

• correspondence
• mail
• matter
• parcel post
• post [chiefly British]

Examples of snail mail in a Sentence

She still uses snail mail for paying bills.

I can be contacted by e-mail and snail mail.

Recent Examples on the Web

Clearly, there are many ways to connect, among them real life visits, emails, video chats, phone calls, texts and snail mail. —Kate Stone Lombardi, Good Housekeeping, 9 Dec. 2022

Email will soon be a relic of the past, sometimes used, but regarded like snail mail as a lesser method. —John Kim, Forbes, 19 July 2022

But as a remote administrative specialist, she is required to print because some of her clients prefer physical documents, invoices and snail mail. —Danielle Abril, Washington Post, 11 July 2023

Although plans to accept electronic submissions are in the works, so far the project has been decidedly analog, starting with snail mail correspondence between potential essayists and a cadre of Hamilton student volunteers. —Patricia Leigh Brown, New York Times, 17 Apr. 2023

So what became of these extraordinary temples to snail mail? —Lindsay Cohn, Travel + Leisure, 4 July 2023

Officials in 32 states and other jurisdictions have been using texts, voicemails, snail mail, flyers and social media posts — all in multiple languages — to let recipients know that their extra food stamps end after February’s payments. —Jonel Aleccia, Anchorage Daily News, 24 Feb. 2023

For example, all the interview requests during Nomo’s time went through fax or snail mail, sometimes phone calls. —Sarah Valenzuela, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2023

Grandparents can be creative with snail mail, too, perhaps sending supplies for craft projects for an upcoming virtual visit, or a treasure map for a virtual search. —Kate Stone Lombardi, Good Housekeeping, 9 Dec. 2022

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Word History

First Known Use

1982, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

snail mail

noun

1

: mail delivered by a postal system

2

: mail entry 1 sense 4