# post office

CEFR A1 · Compound

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/post-office
Updated: 2026-04-24

## Definition

A building where you can mail letters and packages, buy stamps, and use other postal services.

For teachers: A public facility providing mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels for transmission and selling postage stamps.

## Examples

- I need to go to the post office later.
- She went to the post office to send a birthday card to her grandmother.
- The town's original post office, a beautiful Victorian building, is now preserved as a local history museum.

## Pitfalls

- Not "I'm going to the postoffice." but "I'm going to the post office." — In standard English, this compound noun is written as two separate words, not joined into one.

## Usage notes

- This is a compound noun written as two words; stress falls on the first word ('POST office').
- Teaching tip: Contrast with 'mailroom' (an internal office mail department) and 'sorting office' (a large, non-public facility where mail is processed).

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.