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.