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.
Difference Between Post and Mail
Table of Contents
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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.
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.
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.
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.
Items sent or received through postal services.
His mail was lost in transit.
Post
Delivery of letters and parcels.
The post arrives every morning.
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
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
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
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 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
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
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
Rent, payment, or tribute.
Post
With haste
Come now, come post
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
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.
To cover or armor with mail.
Post
A support for a beam in the framework of a building.
A bag or wallet.
Post
A terminal of a battery.
A bag containing letters to be delivered by post.
Post
(Sports) A goal post.
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.
(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.
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.
The letters, parcels, etc. delivered to a particular address or person.
Post
A military base.
(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.
A trunk, box, or bag, in which clothing, etc., may be carried.
Post
A local organization of military veterans.
(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.
(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.
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.
A spot on a bird's feather; by extension, a spotted feather.
Post
A position of employment, especially an appointed public office.
(historical) An old French coin worth half a denier.
Post
A place to which someone is assigned for duty.
A monetary payment or tribute.
Post
A trading post.
Rent.
Post
A postal system.
Tax.
Post
A post office.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(transitive) To arm with mail.
Post
To display (an announcement) in a place of public view.
(transitive) To pinion.
Post
To cover (a wall, for example) with posters.
A spot.
Post
To announce by or as if by posters
Post banns.
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.
Rent; tribute.
Post
To put up signs on (property) warning against trespassing.
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.
Hence generally, armor, or any defensive covering.
Post
To publish (a name) on a list.
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.
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.
A bag; a wallet.
Post
To appoint to a naval or military command.
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.
That which comes in the mail; letters, etc., received through the post office.
Post
Chiefly British To mail (a letter or package).
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.
To arm with mail.
Post
To inform of the latest news
Keep us posted.
To pinion.
Post
To transfer (an item) to a ledger in bookkeeping.
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).
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.
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.
A conveyance that transports mail
Post
To travel with speed or in haste.
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.
(Middle Ages) flexible armor made of interlinked metal rings
Post
With great speed; rapidly.
Send via the postal service;
I'll mail you the check tomorrow
Post
By post horse.
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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Written by
Maham Liaqat
Edited by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba 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.
