postage stamp

¹

noun

1. a small gummed label issued by postal authorities that can be affixed to an envelope, postcard, or package as evidence that postal charges have been paid.

postage-stamp

²

[ poh-stij-stamp ]

adjective

, Informal.

1. of very small area or size:

   a postage-stamp bikini.

postage stamp

noun

1. a printed paper label with a gummed back for attaching to mail as an official indication that the required postage has been paid
2. a mark directly printed or embossed on an envelope, postcard, etc, serving the same function

Word History and Origins

Origin of postage stamp¹

First recorded in 1830–40

Origin of postage stamp²

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

The museum’s chief curator has lamented that “it looks like a postage stamp.”

From Los Angeles Times

“It’s just a postage stamp suburban yard, but there’s a lot going on here,” Ransdell said of the yard’s abundant wildlife, which counts rabbits, skunks, raccoons and possums as visitors.

From Los Angeles Times

Documentaries, plays, books, scholarly papers, exhibits and even a postage stamp have commemorated it.

From Los Angeles Times

The patch, roughly the size of a postage stamp, is constructed from a silicone elastomer embedded with several layers of stretchy electronics.

From Science Daily

Joining the ranks of the screen goddess Brigitte Bardot and the Eiffel Tower, another French treasure is being celebrated with its own postage stamp: the baguette.

From New York Times