View synonyms for

letterbox

[ let-er-boks ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

Also letter box. Chiefly British. a public or private mailbox.
Digital Technology, Television. a technique for displaying a wide-screen film or landscape video on a narrower screen by reducing its size but retaining the aspect ratio, with black bands filling the screen above and below the picture (often used attributively): Compare pan and scan, pillarbox ( def 1 ).
letterbox videos.

verb (used with object)

Digital Technology, Television. to display (a film or video) by using the letterbox technique.

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Word History and Origins

Origin of letterbox¹

First recorded in 1765–75; letter ¹( def ) + box ¹( def )

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

William Newbury, 22, said he was dropping off baby presents to a friend at her boyfriend's house in Llanrumney, Cardiff, on Mother's Day when he saw the "nightmare" attack through their letterbox.

From

"It turned out to be the mother, I went up to the letterbox and looked through and saw the mum and the baby being attacked by three dogs," he said.

From

"The door must have been locked or broken as I couldn't get in, but I tried banging on the door and shouting through the letterbox to try and distract the dog."

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Previously the company only accepted parcels small enough to fit through a letterbox.

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A 24-year-old car cloning victim has told how he ended up dreading the morning post after fines demanding thousands of pounds started to pour through his letterbox.

From

letter bomb letter box

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