ZIP CODE Definition & Meaning

View synonyms for

zip code

Or ZIP code,

noun

a system used in the U.S. to facilitate the delivery of mail, consisting of a five- or nine-digit code printed directly after the address, the first five digits initial code indicating the state and post office or postal zone, the last four expanded code the box section or number, portion of a rural route, building, or other specific delivery location.

zip-code

Or ZIP-code,

[zip-kohd]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

verb (used with object)

zip-coded, zip-coding

to provide or mark with a zip code.
Zip-code all mail.

zip code

noun

the US equivalent of postcode

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of zip code¹

An Americanism first recorded in 1960–65, Z(one) I(mprovement) P(rogram)

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of zip code¹

C20: from z ( one ) i ( mprovement ) p ( lan )

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

The upshot was that hospitals and doctors were unsure when to intervene, and that the access available to patients with the most serious emergencies varied by ZIP code.

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No sense that this was something exchanged between two people who live in the same city, maybe even the same zip code.

From

To conduct its analysis, The Times looked at Zillow rent data at the ZIP code level for single family houses, condos and apartments and compared average rent from December — the month before the fires — to April.

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For the rural denizens of ZIP Code 94924, the reopening is a major victory — especially given President Trump’s musings about privatizing the Postal Service, which lost $9.5 billion in the 2024 fiscal year and is cutting thousands of jobs.

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The tool asks for the exact ZIP Code of where the package will be sent from and mailed to, on which date and what time; it generates the average expected delivery time based on that information.

From

Zipangu zip fastener

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