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 M1 packs 16 billion transistors on a microprocessor the size of a large postage stamp.

From MIT Technology Review

“Honoring predator Harvey Milk on a U.S. postage stamp is disturbing to say the least,” reads the press release.

From The Daily Beast

Bob Larson was raised in McCook, Nebraska, a postage-stamp town of around 7,000 people and 23 churches.

From The Daily Beast

She was relentless in her efforts to have my father honored with a United States postage stamp.

From The Daily Beast

Then Harris walked onto the postage stamp-sized stage, flashed that beauty queen smile and urged her crowd to hunker down.

From The Daily Beast

She found the cloth postage stamp difficult to sit down in and avoid a Paris Hilton version of self-pimping.

From The Daily Beast

On the upper right hand corner of your envelope, put your postage-stamp.

From Project Gutenberg

If the enquiry refers to matters interesting only to yourself, enclose a postage-stamp for the reply.

From Project Gutenberg

If you write to ask for an autograph, always inclose a postage stamp for the answer.

From Project Gutenberg

But it is hardly so well suited to the practical requirements of a postage stamp.

From Project Gutenberg

Nobody can deny that postage-stamp collecting is a great help in teaching boys geography.

From Project Gutenberg