Mail refers to letters, packages, and other items sent through a postal system from one person or place to another. When you write a letter to your grandmother and drop it in a blue mailbox, a mail carrier picks it up, and the postal service delivers it to her door. The word can be a noun (referring to the physical items) or a verb (the act of sending them).

For thousands of years, people relied on mail to communicate across distances. Before telephones, email, and text messages existed, written letters were the primary way to stay in touch with friends and family far away. Governments, businesses, and ordinary people depended on mail carriers to deliver important news, contracts, and personal correspondence. Even today, despite instant digital communication, we still use mail for packages, birthday cards, official documents, and anything that needs to physically travel from one place to another.

You might hear someone say, “The mail hasn't come yet,” when waiting for the daily delivery, or “I'll mail that to you,” when sending something through the postal service.