third-class mail

Thân thiện

A small business owner sorts a stack of third-class mail advertisements.

Definition

Noun: - A category of mail service: This refers to mail consisting primarily of printed matter, such as advertisements, catalogs, newsletters, and other bulk publications, which qualifies for and is sent at reduced postal rates compared to first-class or second-class mail.

Usage

• As a subject or object: The term is used to refer to the category or class of mail service itself.
  • The company uses third-class mail for its advertising circulars.
  • Processing third-class mail is a major function of the postal service.

Advanced Usage

• Historical/Administrative Context: The term "third-class mail" was a formal designation within the United States Postal Service (USPS) for standard mail, primarily used for bulk advertising. This classification has been largely superseded by terms like "Marketing Mail" or "Standard Mail," but "third-class mail" remains in use to describe the concept historically or informally.
  • The rise of email marketing has reduced the volume of traditional third-class mail.

Variants and Related Words

• Standard Mail: The USPS term that largely replaced "third-class mail" for similar types of bulk correspondence.
• Bulk Mail: A general term for large quantities of mail, often synonymous with third-class mail, sent at discounted rates.
• Junk Mail: A colloquial, often pejorative term for unsolicited third-class mail, typically advertisements.

Synonyms

• Advertising mail
• Bulk rate mail
• Standard mail (modern equivalent)

Related Phrases

• To send via third-class mail: To dispatch items using this specific postal service category.
  • We sent the promotional flyers via third-class mail to save on costs.

Học thuật

Noun

1. mail consisting of printed matter qualifying for reduced postal rates

Từ đồng nghĩa

• third class