post-office
Definition
Noun: - A public department or building: "post-office" refers to an official facility or organization responsible for handling mail, parcels, and related postal services. It is a compound noun.
Usage Examples
- (The building where postal services are provided.)
- (The public department that handles mail.)
Advanced Usage
"Post-office box": A private mailbox rented from a post-office for receiving mail.
- She rented a post-office box for her business correspondence. (A locked box at the post-office for mail collection.)
"Post-office savings bank": A bank operated by the postal service for savings accounts.
- Many people used the post-office savings bank before commercial banks became widespread. (A savings system managed by the post-office.)
Variants and Related Words
Postal (adj): relating to the post-office or mail service.
- The postal service delivers mail every day. (The system operated by the post-office.)
Postmaster (n): the person in charge of a post-office.
- The postmaster sorted the letters by hand. (The manager of the post-office.)
Synonyms
- Mail office: a facility for handling mail.
- Postal facility: a building or department for postal services.
Related Idioms
Like a post-office: used to describe a place that is very busy with mail or messages.
- Her desk looks like a post-office with all those letters. (Very cluttered with correspondence.)
Through the post-office: via official mail service.
- The documents were sent through the post-office. (By the postal system.)
Phrasal Verbs (No direct phrasal verbs exist with "post-office")
- Post off: to send something by mail.
- I need to post off these letters before noon. (Send via the post-office.)
Additional Notes
- The word "post-office" is often hyphenated in formal writing, but in modern usage, it is frequently written as "post office" (two words). The hyphenated form is more traditional.