post office

[pohst aw-fis, of-is]

noun

1. an office or station of a government postal system at which mail is received and sorted, from which it is dispatched and distributed, and at which stamps are sold or other services rendered. PO, P.O.

2. Often Post Office the department of a government charged with the transportation of mail.

3. an old-fashioned game in which one player is designated “postmaster” or “postmistress” and calls another player of a different gender into an adjoining room, ostensibly to receive a letter but actually to receive a kiss.

Post Office

¹

noun

1. a government department or authority in many countries responsible for postal services and often telecommunications

post office

²

noun

1. a building or room where postage stamps are sold and other postal business is conducted

Other Word Forms

• post-office adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Post Office¹

First recorded in 1645–55

Example Sentences

When Ortega’s father died of a sudden heart attack outside the post office, she was unprepared for the consequences.

From Los Angeles Times

Postal Service temporarily closed a post office in Torrance, relocated mail services and destroyed thousands of pieces of mail and packages after tests revealed the facility had been contaminated with asbestos, officials said.

From Los Angeles Times

A newly unsealed court document says Richard Tillman admitted to officers that he set a post office on fire because he was ‘trying to make a statement to the United States Government.’

From Los Angeles Times

They designed the city’s long arcade along Ojai Avenue; its signature post office and tower; a church that became the Ojai Valley Museum; and the Roblar, all crafted with Spanish Colonial and Mission Revival features.

From Los Angeles Times

As the story careens through airports and post offices and New York’s hidey-holes, the cat-and-mouse chase is dizzyingly enjoyable, worthy of a Thomas Perry novel.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• postal service www.thesaurus.com