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Glite Dictionary
postal order

postal order

4 4.8
A paper note bought at a post office that lets a named person collect money
  • noun
  • /ˈpəʊstl ˈɔːdə/
  • Archaic
translation icon : giro postal
  • After receiving the postal order, he quickly went to the post office to cash it.
  • cash a postal order
  • buy a postal order

Examples

  • She received a postal order for her birthday from her aunt.

  • I went to the post office to buy a postal order so I could send money to my brother.

  • Please send your application together with a postal order for the registration fee.

  • You can pay the fee by postal order or cheque.

  • I received a postal order from my uncle.

  • She sent a postal order for her birthday gift.

  • She explained how to fill out a postal order for those who had never used one before.

Synonyms

money order
vspostal order
  • US
14 2.8

A paper you buy at a bank or post office that pays a named person a set amount

is bought and cashed only through post offices rather than banks
order of payment
vspostal order
  • Formal
4.8

Formal paper that tells a bank to pay a named person or company a set amount of money

is used only for transfers made via post offices rather than banks or individuals

Surface Forms

postal order singular
postal orders plural

Morphology

postal + order

The parts 'postal' (relating to mail) and 'order' (a request or instruction) clearly signal an order connected with postal services, so learners will suspect a mail-related transaction. However the precise sense — a payment instrument/money order purchased at a post office — is not fully derivable and could be mistaken for an order sent by post, so the meaning is only partially transparent.

Etymology

The term postal order comes from the post office selling a written order that tells another office to pay a named person. So a postal order is a safe, already-paid way 'to send money' to someone far away.