envelope
noun
Simple meaning
A paper or cardboard wrapper used to enclose small, flat items.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ehnvuhlohpSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɛnvəloʊp
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A paper or cardboard wrapper used to enclose small, flat items, especially letters, for mailing.
Something that envelops; a wrapping.
A bag containing the lifting gas of a balloon or airship; fabric that encloses the gas-bags of an airship.
An earthwork in the form of a single parapet or a small rampart, sometimes raised in the ditch and sometimes beyond it.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- General English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A paper or cardboard wrapper used to enclose small, flat items, especially letters, for mailing.
Used this way, envelope is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It stays understated rather than dramatic. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Mild
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use envelope
- “The spacecraft detected an envelope of gas around the comet.”noun
- “Test pilots try to push the envelope.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Collective term for the outer parts of a flower consisting of the calyx and corolla and enclosing the stamens and pistils.
Wages enclosed in an envelope for distribution to the wage earner.
An envelope with a transparent panel that reveals the address on the enclosure.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.