noun
EE-mayl
noun
1
A system for sending and receiving messages electronically over a network such as the Internet.
"The company switched its entire office to a new email system."
2
A single message sent electronically through this system.
"I got an email from my landlord this morning."
"Did you read the email I sent you last night?"
verb
1
To send a message to someone using this system.
"Can you email me the file when you get a chance?"
"She emailed her boss to say she'd be late."
How to Use Email
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishBoth the whole system of sending digital letters and a single one of those letters — and, as a verb, the act of sending one.
UK vs US
Both British and American English now write it as one word, "email", without a hyphen, though "e-mail" is still seen in older or more formal writing.
Common pairings
send an email
check your email
email address
Word Forms
emailed past tense, emails plural, emails plural, emails singular
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The company switched its entire office to a new _____ system.
Etymology
Short for "electronic mail"; the word entered common use in the 1970s alongside the technology itself.