Definition

1. Adjective:
   • With the cost of a reply prepaid by the sender: Describes a postal item, such as a card or envelope, for which the sender has already paid the postage required for the recipient to send it back.

Usage

• The term reply-paid is used almost exclusively to describe specific types of pre-paid return mail provided by a business or organization. It is typically hyphenated.
• It functions as an adjective and is placed before the noun it describes (e.g., a reply-paid card).

Examples

• Adjective:
  • Please return the completed form in the reply-paid envelope provided.
  • The survey was sent out with a reply-paid postcard for easy return.
  • Customers can use the reply-paid label to return the product free of charge.

Advanced Usage

• The concept is related to "Business Reply Mail" (BRM), a specific service offered by postal services. While reply-paid is the general descriptive term, "Business Reply" is often the official service name printed on the item.
• "Freepost" is a similar service used in some countries, like the UK, where the reply item is marked "Freepost" instead of "reply-paid."

Variants and Related Words

• Prepaid (adj.): Paid for in advance. (A reply-paid envelope is a specific type of prepaid envelope.)
• Business Reply Mail / Freepost (n.): The official postal service names for reply-paid services.

Synonyms

• Postage-paid (for return)
• Return-postage-paid

Notes on Different Meanings

• reply-paid has a very specific, singular meaning related to postal costs. It does not refer to repaying a debt or any other form of payment.

Adjective

1. with cost of reply prepaid by sender
   • reply-paid postcard
   • reply-paid envelope