air mail
1
2.8
- noun
- /ɛr meɪl/
- It is a good idea, at this stage, for teachers to mail to each other by regular air mail a "project welcome package" that contains photographs of the students at each school, the school buildings, and some information on each community.
- air mail service
Examples
-
Sending postcards through air mail ensures that they arrive much faster than regular mail.
-
- How much for an air mail letter?
-
Even if students use air mail, letters require several weeks to reach their destination, and several weeks more elapse before students receive replies.
Academic text (1994) -
Any envelope with air mail strips on its borders automatically fills him with joy.
Fiction book (1993) -
Then, withdrawing to a corner, he reads and rereads at his leisure the air mail edition of ABC.
Fiction book (1996) -
The first air mail service in 1918... grew in a short time to major airlines... with regularly scheduled transcontinental... and then transoceanic passenger and freight service.
-
In the early 1900s, air mail allowed letters to be sent across the country in just a few days.
-
During World War II, air mail was crucial for keeping soldiers in touch with their families back home.
Synonyms
A way of sending letters and packages by airplane
Antonyms
How Fast
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'mail transported by aircraft' is directly and compositionally derived from 'air' (by airplane/aviation) + 'mail' (postal items). This noun–noun compound follows a common and cross-linguistically transparent pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Air mail comes from the simple picture of putting mail on a plane so it travels through the air instead of by ship or train. That's why it means mail sent 'by plane' for faster, long-distance delivery.