Ask Difference

Post vs. Mail — What's the Difference?

Edited by Tayyaba Rehman — By Maham Liaqat — Updated on March 27, 2024
Post involves the system of sending letters and parcels, focusing on delivery methods, while mail refers to the items sent, emphasizing content and format.
Post vs. Mail — What's the Difference?

Difference Between Post and Mail

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Key Differences

Post refers to the system or service provided by governmental or private entities for the physical transportation of letters and parcels from one place to another. This system includes various services such as delivery speed options, tracking, and special handling. Mail, on the other hand, encompasses the items that are sent through this system, including letters, parcels, and electronic communications. The term is often used to describe the content and format of what is sent, regardless of the delivery method.
While post emphasizes the infrastructure and services involved in the delivery process, including post offices, mailboxes, and logistical operations, mail focuses more on the content being sent. This can include personal letters, official documents, packages, and increasingly, electronic mail or email.
The term "post" is also used internationally to refer to the act of sending something through the postal system, implying a focus on the method of dispatch and delivery. Mail, however, is a broader term that can refer to the items sent via the postal system as well as the digital messages sent through email services, highlighting the evolving nature of communication.
Post systems have historically been crucial in the development of global communication networks, facilitating trade, diplomacy, and personal correspondence across long distances. Mail, as the content sent through these systems, has been equally vital in enabling individuals and organizations to exchange information, goods, and sentiments.
While post often carries a more formal or institutional connotation, associated with the physical and logistical aspects of sending and receiving, mail can convey a more personal or content-focused meaning. This distinction reflects the complementary roles of the system of delivery (post) and the messages or items delivered (mail).
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Comparison Chart

Definition

The system for sending letters and parcels
The letters, parcels, and electronic messages sent

Focus

Delivery methods and infrastructure
Content and format of items sent

Scope

Physical and logistical operations
Includes both physical and electronic forms

Historical Context

Facilitated global communication networks
Enabled exchange of information and goods

Connotation

Formal, relating to the system and process
Personal or official, focusing on the content

Compare with Definitions

Post

A system for delivering mail.
She sent the package via the post.

Mail

Letters and parcels sent via the postal system.
I received your mail yesterday.

Post

Governmental or private entities managing mail delivery.
The post has introduced faster delivery options.

Mail

The content sent in letters or packages.
The mail included a birthday card.

Post

The act of sending something through the postal system.
He will post the letter today.

Mail

Electronic messages sent over the internet.
She reads her mail every morning.

Post

Physical infrastructure for mail services.
The new post office opens next week.

Mail

Items sent or received through postal services.
His mail was lost in transit.

Post

Delivery of letters and parcels.
The post arrives every morning.

Mail

The act of sending electronic messages.
He will mail the documents to you.

Post

A long, sturdy piece of timber or metal set upright in the ground and used as a support or marker
Follow the blue posts until the track meets a road

Mail

The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems.

Post

A piece of writing, image, or other item of content published online, typically on a blog or social media website or application
In a recent post, he cautioned investors to be wary of these predictions

Mail

Letters and parcels sent by post
I did not receive any mail

Post

The official service or system that delivers letters and parcels
The tickets are in the post
Winners will be notified by post

Mail

Armour made of metal rings or plates joined together flexibly
A coat of mail
He had a mail shirt

Post

Each of a series of couriers who carried mail on horseback between fixed stages.

Mail

Send (a letter or parcel) by post
Three editions were mailed to our members

Post

A position of paid employment; a job
He resigned from the post of Foreign Minister
A teaching post

Mail

Clothe or cover with mail
A mailed gauntlet

Post

A place where someone is on duty or where a particular activity is carried out
A customs post
A shift worker asleep at his post

Mail

Materials, such as letters and packages, handled in a postal system
The volume of mail increases around the holidays.

Post

The status or rank of full-grade captain in the Royal Navy
Captain Miller was made post in 1796

Mail

Postal material for a specific person or organization
Could you pick up my mail at the office?.

Post

Display (a notice) in a public place
A curt notice had been posted on the door

Mail

Material processed for distribution from a post office at a specified time
Delivered the morning mail around town.

Post

Announce or publish (something, especially a financial result)
The company posted a £460,000 loss

Mail

A postal system. Used with the, sometimes in the plural
Used the mail to send the supplies.
Advertisements sent through the mails.

Post

(of a player or team) achieve or record (a particular score or result)
Smith and Lamb posted a century partnership

Mail

Chiefly British A vehicle by which mail is transported.

Post

Send (a letter or parcel) via the postal system
Post off your order form today
I've just been to post a letter

Mail

Mail or messages sent electronically; email.

Post

(in bookkeeping) enter (an item) in a ledger
Post the transaction in the second column
Initial records kept in day books are periodically posted to accounts

Mail

Flexible armor composed of small overlapping metal rings, loops of chain, or scales.

Post

Travel with relays of horses
We posted in an open carriage

Mail

The protective covering of certain animals, as the shell of a turtle.

Post

Send (someone) to a place to take up an appointment
He was posted to Washington as military attaché

Mail

Rent, payment, or tribute.

Post

With haste
Come now, come post

Mail

To send by a postal system
Mailed the letter yesterday.

Post

Subsequent to; after
American poetry post the 1950s hasn't had the same impact

Mail

To send letters and other material by a postal system.

Post

A long piece of wood or other material set upright into the ground to serve as a marker or support.

Mail

To cover or armor with mail.

Post

A support for a beam in the framework of a building.

Mail

A bag or wallet.

Post

A terminal of a battery.

Mail

A bag containing letters to be delivered by post.

Post

(Sports) A goal post.

Mail

The material conveyed by the postal service.
Don't forget to pick up the mail on your way.

Post

The starting point at a racetrack.

Mail

(dated) A stagecoach, train or ship that delivers such post.

Post

The slender barlike part of a stud earring that passes through the ear and is secured at the back with a small cap or clip.

Mail

The postal service or system in general.
He decided to send his declaration by mail.

Post

An electronic message sent to and displayed on an online forum
Ignored several inflammatory posts.

Mail

The letters, parcels, etc. delivered to a particular address or person.

Post

A military base.

Mail

(uncountable) Electronic mail, e-mail: a computer network–based service for sending, storing, and forwarding electronic messages.

Post

The grounds and buildings of a military base.

Mail

A trunk, box, or bag, in which clothing, etc., may be carried.

Post

A local organization of military veterans.

Mail

(uncountable) Armour consisting of metal rings or plates linked together.

Post

Either of two bugle calls in the British Army, sounded in the evening as a signal to retire to quarters.

Mail

(nautical) A contrivance of interlinked rings, for rubbing off the loose hemp on lines and white cordage.

Post

An assigned position or station, as of a guard or sentry.

Mail

Any hard protective covering of an animal, as the scales and plates of reptiles, shell of a lobster, etc.

Post

(Basketball) A position usually taken by the center close to the basket or below the foul line, serving as the focus of the team's offense.

Mail

A spot on a bird's feather; by extension, a spotted feather.

Post

A position of employment, especially an appointed public office.

Mail

(historical) An old French coin worth half a denier.

Post

A place to which someone is assigned for duty.

Mail

A monetary payment or tribute.

Post

A trading post.

Mail

Rent.

Post

A postal system.

Mail

Tax.

Post

A post office.

Mail

(ditransitive) To send (a letter, parcel, etc.) through the mail.

Post

A delivery or amount of mail
Waiting for the morning's post to arrive.

Mail

(ditransitive) To send by electronic mail.
Please mail me the spreadsheet by the end of the day.

Post

One of a series of relay stations along a fixed route, furnishing fresh riders and horses for the delivery of mail on horseback.

Mail

(transitive) To contact (a person) by electronic mail.
I need to mail my tutor about the deadline.

Post

A rider on such a mail route; a courier.

Mail

(transitive) To arm with mail.

Post

To display (an announcement) in a place of public view.

Mail

(transitive) To pinion.

Post

To cover (a wall, for example) with posters.

Mail

A spot.

Post

To announce by or as if by posters
Post banns.

Mail

A small piece of money; especially, an English silver half-penny of the time of Henry V.

Post

(Computers) To make (an electronic message) available by sending it to an online forum
Posted a response to a question about car engines.

Mail

Rent; tribute.

Post

To put up signs on (property) warning against trespassing.

Mail

A flexible fabric made of metal rings interlinked. It was used especially for defensive armor.

Post

To denounce publicly
Post a man as a thief.

Mail

Hence generally, armor, or any defensive covering.

Post

To publish (a name) on a list.

Mail

A contrivance of interlinked rings, for rubbing off the loose hemp on lines and white cordage.

Post

(Games) To gain (points or a point) in a game or contest; score.

Mail

Any hard protective covering of an animal, as the scales and plates of reptiles, shell of a lobster, etc.
We . . . strip the lobster of his scarlet mail.

Post

To assign to a specific position or station
Post a sentry at the gate.

Mail

A bag; a wallet.

Post

To appoint to a naval or military command.

Mail

The bag or bags with the letters, papers, or other matter contained therein, conveyed under public authority from one post office to another; the whole system of appliances used by government in the conveyance and delivery of mail matter.
There is a mail come in to-day, with letters dated Hague.

Post

To put forward; present
Post bail.

Mail

That which comes in the mail; letters, etc., received through the post office.

Post

Chiefly British To mail (a letter or package).

Mail

A trunk, box, or bag, in which clothing, etc., may be carried.

Post

(Archaic) To send by mail in a system of relays on horseback.

Mail

To arm with mail.

Post

To inform of the latest news
Keep us posted.

Mail

To pinion.

Post

To transfer (an item) to a ledger in bookkeeping.

Mail

To deliver into the custody of the postoffice officials, or place in a government letter box, for transmission by mail; to post; as, to mail a letter.

Post

To make the necessary entries in (a ledger).

Mail

The bags of letters and packages that are transported by the postal service

Post

(Computers) To enter (a unit of information) on a record or into a section of storage.

Mail

The system whereby messages are transmitted via the post office;
The mail handles billions of items every day
He works for the United States mail service
In England they call mail `the post'

Post

To travel in stages or relays.

Mail

A conveyance that transports mail

Post

To travel with speed or in haste.

Mail

Any particular collection of letters or packages that is delivered;
Your mail is on the table
Is there any post for me?
She was opening her post

Post

To bob up and down in the saddle in rhythm with a horse's trotting gait.

Mail

(Middle Ages) flexible armor made of interlinked metal rings

Post

With great speed; rapidly.

Mail

Send via the postal service;
I'll mail you the check tomorrow

Post

By post horse.

Mail

Cause to be directed or transmitted to another place;
Send me your latest results
I'll mail you the paper when it's written

Post

A long dowel or plank protruding from the ground; a fencepost; a lightpost.
Ram a post into the ground

Post

(construction) A stud; a two-by-four.

Post

A pole in a battery.

Post

(dentistry) A long, narrow piece inserted into a root canal to provide retention for a crown.

Post

A prolonged final melody note, among moving harmony notes.

Post

A printing paper size measuring 19.25 inches x 15.5 inches.

Post

(sports) A goalpost.

Post

A location on a basketball court near the basket.

Post

(obsolete) The doorpost of a victualler's shop or inn, on which were chalked the scores of customers; hence, a score; a debt.

Post

The vertical part of a crochet stitch.

Post

(obsolete) Each of a series of men stationed at specific places along a postroad, with responsibility for relaying letters and dispatches of the monarch (and later others) along the route.

Post

(dated) A station, or one of a series of stations, established for the refreshment and accommodation of travellers on some recognized route.
A stage or railway post

Post

A military base; the place at which a soldier or a body of troops is stationed; also, the troops at such a station.

Post

Someone who travels express along a set route carrying letters and dispatches; a courier.

Post

An organisation for delivering letters, parcels etc., or the service provided by such an organisation.
Sent via post; parcel post

Post

A single delivery of letters; the letters or deliveries that make up a single batch delivered to one person or one address.

Post

A message posted in an electronic or Internet forum, or on a blog, etc.

Post

(American football) A moderate to deep passing route in which a receiver runs 10-20 yards from the line of scrimmage straight down the field, then cuts toward the middle of the field (towards the facing goalposts) at a 45-degree angle.
Two of the receivers ran post patterns.

Post

(obsolete) Haste or speed, like that of a messenger or mail carrier.

Post

(obsolete) One who has charge of a station, especially a postal station.

Post

An assigned station; a guard post.

Post

An appointed position in an organization, job.

Post

Post-production.
We'll fix it in post

Post

A post mortem investigation of body's cause of death.

Post

(transitive) To hang (a notice) in a conspicuous manner for general review.
Post no bills.

Post

To hold up to public blame or reproach; to advertise opprobriously; to denounce by public proclamation.
To post someone for cowardice

Post

(accounting) To carry (an account) from the journal to the ledger.

Post

To inform; to give the news to; to make acquainted with the details of a subject; often with up.

Post

To pay down (the stake).

Post

To pay (a blind).
Since Jim was new to the game, he had to post $4 in order to receive a hand.

Post

To travel with relays of horses; to travel by post horses, originally as a courier.

Post

To travel quickly; to hurry.

Post

To send (an item of mail etc.) through the postal service.
Mail items posted before 7.00pm within the Central Business District and before 5.00pm outside the Central Business District will be delivered the next working day.

Post

(horse-riding) To rise and sink in the saddle, in accordance with the motion of the horse, especially in trotting.

Post

(Internet) To publish (a message) to a newsgroup, forum, blog, etc.
I couldn't figure it out, so I posted a question on the mailing list.

Post

To enter (a name) on a list, as for service, promotion, etc.

Post

To assign to a station; to set; to place.
Post a sentinel in front of the door.

Post

With the post, on post-horses; by a relay of horses (changing at every staging-post); hence, express, with speed, quickly.

Post

Sent via the postal service.

Post

After; especially after a significant event that has long-term ramifications.

Post

Hired to do what is wrong; suborned.

Post

The doorpost of a victualer's shop or inn, on which were chalked the scores of customers; hence, a score; a debt.
When God sends coinI will discharge your post.

Post

The place at which anything is stopped, placed, or fixed; a station.

Post

A messenger who goes from station; an express; especially, one who is employed by the government to carry letters and parcels regularly from one place to another; a letter carrier; a postman.
In certain places there be always fresh posts, to carry that further which is brought unto them by the other.
I fear my Julia would not deign my lines,Receiving them from such a worthless post.

Post

An established conveyance for letters from one place or station to another; especially, the governmental system in any country for carrying and distributing letters and parcels; the post office; the mail; hence, the carriage by which the mail is transported.
I send you the fair copy of the poem on dullness, which I should not care to hazard by the common post.

Post

Haste or speed, like that of a messenger or mail carrier.

Post

One who has charge of a station, especially of a postal station.
He held office of postmaster, or, as it was then called, post, for several years.

Post

A station, office, or position of service, trust, or emolument; as, the post of duty; the post of danger.
The post of honor is a private station.

Post

A size of printing and writing paper. See the Table under Paper.

Post

To attach to a post, a wall, or other usual place of affixing public notices; to placard; as, to post a notice; to post playbills.

Post

To hold up to public blame or reproach; to advertise opprobriously; to denounce by public proclamation; as, to post one for cowardice.
On pain of being posted to your sorrowFail not, at four, to meet me.

Post

To enter (a name) on a list, as for service, promotion, or the like.

Post

To assign to a station; to set; to place; as, to post a sentinel.

Post

To carry, as an account, from the journal to the ledger; as, to post an account; to transfer, as accounts, to the ledger.
You have not posted your books these ten years.

Post

To place in the care of the post; to mail; as, to post a letter.

Post

To inform; to give the news to; to make (one) acquainted with the details of a subject; - often with up.
Thoroughly posted up in the politics and literature of the day.

Post

To travel with post horses; figuratively, to travel in haste.
And post o'er land and ocean without rest.

Post

To rise and sink in the saddle, in accordance with the motion of the horse, esp. in trotting.

Post

With post horses; hence, in haste; as, to travel post.

Post

The position where someone (as a guard or sentry) stands or is assigned to stand;
A soldier manned the entrance post
A sentry station

Post

Military installation at which a body of troops is stationed;
This military post provides an important source of income for the town nearby
There is an officer's club on the post

Post

A job in an organization;
He occupied a post in the treasury

Post

An upright consisting of a piece of timber or metal fixed firmly in an upright position;
He set a row of posts in the ground and strung barbwire between them

Post

United States aviator who in 1933 made the first solo flight around the world (1899-1935)

Post

United States female author who wrote a book and a syndicated newspaper column on etiquette (1872-1960)

Post

United States manufacturer of breakfast cereals and Postum (1854-1914)

Post

Any particular collection of letters or packages that is delivered;
Your mail is on the table
Is there any post for me?
She was opening her post

Post

A pole or stake set up to mark something (as the start or end of a race track);
A pair of posts marked the goal
The corner of the lot was indicated by a stake

Post

The system whereby messages are transmitted via the post office;
The mail handles billions of items every day
He works for the United States mail service
In England they call mail `the post'

Post

The delivery and collection of letters and packages;
It came by the first post
If you hurry you'll catch the post

Post

Affix in a public place or for public notice;
Post a warning

Post

Publicize with, or as if with, a poster;
I'll post the news on the bulletin board

Post

Assign to a post; put into a post;
The newspaper posted him in Timbuktu

Post

Assign to a station

Post

Display, as of records in sports games

Post

Enter on a public list

Post

Transfer (entries) from one account book to another

Post

Ride Western style and bob up and down in the saddle in in rhythm with a horse's trotting gait

Post

Mark with a stake;
Stake out the path

Post

Put up;
Post a sign
Post a warning at the dump

Post

Cause to be directed or transmitted to another place;
Send me your latest results
I'll mail you the paper when it's written

Post

Mark or expose as infamous;
She was branded a loose woman

Common Curiosities

What is the primary difference between post and mail?

Post refers to the system and services for delivering items, while mail refers to the items sent through this system.

Is "post" used more in certain regions?

Yes, "post" is more commonly used in British English, while "mail" is prevalent in American English.

Is there a difference in formality between post and mail?

Post tends to sound more formal, relating to the delivery system; mail is more general, focusing on the content.

Can mail include electronic messages?

Yes, mail can refer to both physical letters and parcels as well as electronic messages.

Can I use "post" to refer to sending an email?

Typically, "post" refers to sending physical items, whereas "send" is used for email.

What kind of items can be sent by mail?

Mail can include a wide range of items, from letters and documents to packages and electronic messages.

Do both terms apply to international shipping?

Yes, both post and mail can be used to describe international sending of letters and parcels.

Is there a technological aspect to mail?

Yes, particularly with the inclusion of electronic mail or email.

How do postal services relate to the term "post"?

Postal services are part of the post system, providing the infrastructure and services for mail delivery.

What does "going postal" mean?

It's an idiomatic expression unrelated to the actual sending of mail, referring to becoming extremely angry or violent.

Does the post system include private courier services?

Yes, private courier services are part of the broader post system, offering specialized delivery options.

Can "mail" be used to describe the action of sending something?

Yes, especially in the context of sending electronic mail.

Are there specific services associated with post but not mail?

Yes, services like tracking and special handling are specific to the post system.

How does the evolution of communication technology affect these terms?

With the rise of digital communication, "mail" has expanded to include email, while "post" remains largely physical.

What role does the post office play in the delivery of mail?

The post office is a key component of the post system, facilitating the sorting, handling, and delivery of mail.

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Author Spotlight

Written by
Maham Liaqat
Tayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.

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