snail mail

noun

1

informal : mail delivered by a postal system especially when contrasted with email : mail sense 1a

I avoid using e-mail to complain. I use the phone or old-fashioned snail mail.

—Arlene Silverman

2

informal : a nation's postal system : mail sense 2

The others have taken the traditional route: sending checks by snail mail.

—Stephen Gandel

Synonyms

• correspondence
• mail
• matter
• parcel post
• post [chiefly British]

Examples of snail mail in a Sentence

She still uses snail mail for paying bills.

I can be contacted by e-mail and snail mail.

Recent Examples on the Web

Workers aged 60 and older who do not have online accounts can still receive hard-copy statements via snail mail. —David Rae, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024

This finding, coupled with the growing evidence of snail mail's resurgence in the face of digital media overload, suggests that traditional marketing strategies may still hold significant value. —R. Paul Singh, Forbes, 16 Oct. 2024

But my husband cut him out and Dad was left for years making fruitless communication attempts via email, voice messages — even snail mail. —Gillian Telling, People.com, 16 Oct. 2024

Wedding invitations, once a snail mail exclusive industry, now go beyond even email inboxes after the peak of digital invite services created in the '90s and aughts. —April Rubin, Axios, 18 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1982, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

snail mail

noun

informal

1

: mail delivered by a postal system

2

: mail entry 1 sense 4