🏠 A house mailbox 📬 A mail compartment 📮 A street mailbox

letter box

1.8

A public box where people put letters for the post to collect

noun
/ˈlɛtər bɑks/

: buzón

Make sure your letter is in the letter box before the last collection.

Examples

I dropped my postcards in the letter box outside the station.
The letter box on the corner is painted bright red.
Please drop the package in the letter box.
The letter box is full today.
I dropped my postcards in the letter box outside the station.
Make sure your letter is in the letter box before the last collection.
The letter box on the corner is painted bright red.

Synonyms

mailbox

vsletter box

111 1.0

A box outside a home or on the street where mail is delivered

is specifically the public pickup container rather than private delivery use

letterbox

vsletter box

2 1.5

A slot in a door or wall where mail is put

is the external public collection container used for postal pickups

postbox

vsletter box

1 1.0

A public box where people put letters and mail to be collected

is the general public collection container for letters and packages

pillar box

vsletter box

7.1

A tall red box on the street for posting letters

is the public collection container not limited to that shape

maildrop

vsletter box

4.4

A box where people put letters or small packages for someone to collect

is the formal public box serviced by the postal service

How Private

lockbox

14 5.8

Post-Office box

7 3.1

letterbox

2 1.5

letter box

1.8

Surface Forms

letter box singular

letter boxes plural

Morphology

letter + box

The meaning 'a box for delivered letters' is directly and transparently derived from 'letter' (a posted message) + 'box' (a container), so a learner who knows both words can infer this without prior exposure. This compound follows common noun+noun composition found across languages (e.g., mailbox/letterbox), making it immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Letter box One clear picture is a large metal box on a street where anyone can drop a letter for the postal service to collect. That's why 'letter box' means 'a public collection box for mail'.