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Glite Dictionary
📬 Postal system 📧 Email provider
mail service

mail service

1 1.0
An official system that sends letters and packages between places, often run by the government
  • noun
  • /meɪl ˈsɜrvɪs/
translation icon : servicio postal
  • In fact, the one-cent cost would be a charge or service fee for those who wanted to use the mail service. This differs from a tax, since one could abstain from using the mail service.

I don't think there was actually mail service to a lot of these houses along the street.

Examples

  • The mail service in our area is known for its reliability and speed.

  • Due to severe weather conditions, the mail service might be delayed this week.

  • So tell me, how does the mail service work here?

    The Big Bang (2011)

  • The Challenge: The United States Post Office has introduced a new direct mail service for businesses.

    Blog text (32)

  • I don't think there was actually mail service to a lot of these houses along the street.

    Gregory B. Sadler - That Philosophy Guy

  • There isn't mail service to the camp.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • If you allow private companies to perform letter carrying within cities and to lower prices, the public provision of mail service would lose the revenue necessary to keep costs low for all.

    Academic text (2010)

  • Mail services within municipalities could become cheaper, and over long distances, prices would become prohibitive.

    Academic text (2010)

  • Receipts are kept by the research team for every box in every school in order to trace the provenance of each box in the event that something unexpected arises with the mail service.

    Academic text (2013)

  • Residents were thrilled when the local mail service finally resumed after the storm.

Synonyms

mail
vsmail service
659 1.0

The service that sends and delivers letters and packages

focuses on the official government-run system rather than informal methods
post
vsmail service
  • UK
204 1.0

Letters and packages that are delivered to people

uses the broader official system sense not limited to a regional term
Post Office
vsmail service
24 1.0

A public place where people send and pick up letters and parcels

refers to the whole official sending system rather than the single agency
postal service
vsmail service
10 1.4

A system that sends and delivers letters and packages

is the same but stresses operation by government or official authority
snail mail
vsmail service
  • Informal
7 3.4

Letters and packages that are sent and delivered by the postal service

is the general official sending system without contrast to electronic forms

How Fast

express mail
1 2.8
mail service
1 1.0

Surface Forms

mail service singular
mail services plural

Morphology

mail + service

The meaning is directly and transparently derived from combining 'mail' (postal or electronic messages) with 'service' (a provider or assistance), so a learner who knows both words can infer it denotes a service that handles mail. While context may specify physical vs. electronic mail, the compositional pattern is straightforward and cross-linguistically common, making the expression understandable to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Mail service comes from the old image of postmen and riders carrying a mailbag while running regular routes as a public service that delivered letters and parcels. That's why it means the official system for 'sending letters and parcels' between places.