postmaster general

American  

noun

plural

postmasters general

1. the executive head of the postal system of a country.

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postmaster general British  

noun

1. the executive head of the postal service in certain countries

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postmaster general Cultural  

1. The head of the United States Postal Service. Until 1970, the postmaster general was head of the federal Post Office Department and a member of the president's cabinet. In 1970, the Postal Service was set up as an independent agency in place of the Post Office Department. The Postal Service is operated like a private corporation, although postal workers receive the benefits of federal employees.

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Etymology

Origin of postmaster general

First recorded in 1620–30

Example Sentences

As I reported at the time, his name came to the Board of Governors independently of a headhunting firm that the board had commissioned to find candidates for postmaster general.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 25, 2024

Louis DeJoy, postmaster general, said the Postal Service goal is to make peak holiday season delivery “superior and routine.”

From Seattle Times • Nov. 20, 2023

The mail program based in New York City in cooperation with the U.S. postmaster general was a “source of strategic importance for counterintelligence,” Rocca told the Rockefeller commission.

From Washington Times • Jan. 1, 2023

Former postmaster general Megan Brennan, who was in office when the mail agency began developing the mobile voting system, did not respond to a request for comment.

From Washington Post • Dec. 13, 2021

The two acts, which it seemed to the committee the postmaster general would most likely depend upon, were the acts of 1710 and of 1801.

From The History of the Post Office in British North America by Smith, William, Sir