mail order
B1Neutral to formal; common in business and everyday commercial contexts.
Definition
Meaning
A system of buying and selling goods where the transaction is initiated and completed by post, without the customer seeing the goods in person beforehand.
The broader business model or industry based on selling products directly to consumers via postal, and now digital, channels. Also used to describe an item purchased through this system.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Functions primarily as a noun phrase (e.g., 'a mail order company'), often used attributively before another noun. Can be hyphenated as a compound adjective ('mail-order catalogue').
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Usage is very similar. 'Mail order' is standard in both, though British English might historically have more association with 'postal order' (a financial instrument) which is a different concept.
Connotations
Neutral, though can carry a slightly dated connotation of paper catalogues, contrasted with modern 'e-commerce' or 'online shopping'.
Frequency
Equally common, though the specific term may be slightly less frequent now, superseded by 'online shopping'.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
[Company] + [verb: operates/specialises in/sells via] + mail order[Customer] + [verb: buys/orders/purchases] + [item] + by/through mail orderVocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “A mail-order bride (a woman chosen from a catalogue for marriage, often from a foreign country).”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Refers to a specific retail channel and operational model.
Academic
Used in historical, business, or sociological studies of commerce.
Everyday
Used when describing how something was bought, especially from a paper catalogue.
Technical
Less common; e-commerce or 'direct-to-consumer (DTC)' are more contemporary technical terms.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- Companies used to mail-order goods directly to your home.
- We can mail-order that part for you.
American English
- She mail-ordered the seeds from a regional catalog.
- You'll have to mail-order it; they don't stock it locally.
adverb
British English
- These plants are only available mail order.
- They sell predominantly mail order.
American English
- Can I buy it mail order?
- The item is offered mail order only.
adjective
British English
- They ran a successful mail-order business for gardening tools.
- She received a thick mail-order catalogue.
American English
- He worked for a large mail-order retailer based in Chicago.
- Check the mail-order form for the correct product code.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- My grandmother buys clothes by mail order.
- This company does mail order.
- Before the internet, many people used mail-order catalogues to shop.
- I'm going to mail-order a new coat from their website.
- The firm transitioned from a brick-and-mortar store to a purely mail-order operation to reduce costs.
- Mail-order pharmacies deliver prescription drugs directly to patients' homes.
- The sociological phenomenon of mail-order brides raises complex questions about agency and global inequality.
- Victorian mail-order services were an early form of democratising access to consumer goods beyond urban centres.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of MAIL (letters/post) + ORDER (request). You ORDER goods via the MAIL.
Conceptual Metaphor
COMMERCE IS A DISTANCE JOURNEY (the goods travel to the buyer).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid direct translation of 'order' as 'приказ' (command). Use 'заказ' (purchase request). 'Mail order' is 'заказ по почте' or 'почтовый заказ'. Do not confuse with 'денежный перевод' (money order).
Common Mistakes
- Incorrect: 'I did a mail order for a book.' Correct: 'I ordered a book by mail order.' or 'I made a mail-order purchase.'
- Spelling: Using 'male order' (incorrect) instead of 'mail order'.
Practice
Quiz
What is the most accurate synonym for 'mail order' in a historical business context?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
The term is still understood and used, but the activity is now more commonly called 'online shopping' or 'e-commerce', even though the fundamental principle of distant buying is the same.
'Mail order' traditionally implies ordering from a paper catalogue via post or phone, with goods delivered by post. 'Online order' implies using a website or app, with a wider range of delivery options. 'Mail order' is a subset of distance selling.
Yes, though less common. It can be used informally (e.g., 'I'll mail-order it'). The hyphen is often used in the verb form.
The term is widely recognized but is often considered derogatory or reductive. More neutral terms like 'international marriage agency client' or 'cross-cultural matchmaking' are sometimes preferred in formal discourse, though the phrase remains in common use.