letter-box

letter-box — noun

IPA/ˈletə bɒks/
IPA/ˈletər bɑːks/

1. the place at a house where letters are delivered, either through a flap set into

1.nounB1
Definition

the place at a house where letters are delivered, either through a flap set into the front door or into a small box by the entrance.

Example

Noor heard the post drop through the letter-box during breakfast.

drop through the letter-box

A wet leaflet was sticking halfway out of the letter-box flap.

Common collocations
  • through the letter-box
  • the letter-box flap
  • paint the letter-box
  • mail came through the letter-box
Synonyms
  • mail slot

    more exact when the opening is cut into a door

  • mailbox

    broader North American term for a private place where mail is delivered

  • door flap

    only names the moving cover, not the whole delivery point

Grammar Patterns

through the letter-box

the letter-box flap

paint the letter-box

Usage Note

Usually refers to the delivery point at one home. British English often uses letter-box here, while American English more often says mailbox or mail slot. Distinguish from sense 2: this sense is for receiving mail at a house, not for posting letters in public.

Common Mistakes

Drop the tax form in our letter-box on your way to town.
Push the tax form through our letter-box at the front door.
This sense is the delivery slot or box at one house, not a public place for posting mail.

2. a metal box in the street where people leave letters for collection and delivery

2.nounB1
Definition

a metal box in the street where people leave letters for collection and delivery.

Example

Christopher posted the card in the red letter-box outside the station.

post a card in the letter-box

By noon, the village letter-box was already full of envelopes.

Common collocations
  • post a card in the letter-box
  • empty the letter-box
  • the letter-box collection time
  • the red letter-box
Synonyms
  • postbox

    the most direct British English equivalent

  • pillar box

    a traditional British street-posting box, often cylindrical

  • mailbox

    broader North American term that can also mean a private home box

Grammar Patterns

post a card in the letter-box

empty the letter-box

the letter-box collection time

Usage Note

Used for a public box where you post outgoing mail. In British English it often overlaps with postbox. Distinguish from sense 1: this sense is for sending letters out, not for receiving mail at one home.

Common Mistakes

The postman dropped our gas bill into the letter-box near the station.
Christopher posted our gas bill into the letter-box near the station.
This sense is the public box for sending mail, not the place where your own mail arrives.

3. the display format that fits a wide film image onto an ordinary screen by adding

3.nounC1
Definition

the display format that fits a wide film image onto an ordinary screen by adding black strips above and below the picture.

Example

The old television showed the film in letter-box, with black bands above and below.

show a film in letter-box

Yuki disliked letter-box because the subtitles looked smaller on the screen.

Common collocations
  • in letter-box
  • letter-box format
  • switch to letter-box
  • a letter-box screen
Synonyms
  • letterboxing

    a more technical term for this screen presentation style

  • wide-screen format

    broader and does not always stress the black bars on a narrow screen

Antonyms
  • fullscreen

    fills the whole screen instead of leaving black bars

  • pan-and-scan

    fits a wide image by cutting away the sides

Grammar Patterns

in letter-box

switch to letter-box

letter-box format

Usage Note

Usually appears in film and video talk, often after in or in the phrase letter-box format. Distinguish from verb/1: this noun names the display result, while verb/1 names the act of creating it.

Common Mistakes

The DVD was in letter-box, so both sides were cut away.
The DVD was in letter-box, so black bars stayed above and below the picture.
Letter-box keeps the full wide image instead of cropping the sides.

letter-box — verb

IPA/ˈlet.ə.bɒks/
IPA/ˈlet̬.ɚ.bɑːks/

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

For sense 1, letter-box is the British term for the place where mail reaches a home. Mail slot is narrower: it usually means the opening in a door, not a separate box outside. Mailbox is the usual North American everyday word and can cover both a house box and, in some contexts, a public mail container. Postbox points more clearly to the public street box in British English, so it matches sense 2 better than sense 1. Post office box is different again: it is a rented box inside a post office building. If a nurse pushes a test result through your front door, letter-box or mail slot fits. If you walk to the corner to send a card, postbox is the better choice.

mailbox ↗mail slot ↗postboxpost office box

Etymology

English

Letter-box combines letter and box. It first named a box used for receiving mail at a home, then also the narrow opening in a door that serves the same purpose. Film and television later borrowed the image because the black bars above and below a wide picture resemble the long narrow shape of a mail slot.

First known use

1727

1727, in the meaning defined at sense 1a