addressee

noun

ad·​dress·​ee ˌa-ˌdre-ˈsē How to pronounce addressee (audio)
ə-
: one to whom something is addressed

Examples of addressee in a Sentence

The addressee no longer lives here, so I've returned the letter to the post office.
Recent Examples on the Web While information said to include addressees, dates of birth, health insurance information, medical record numbers, patient account numbers and the names and dates of treatments were taken, Scripps said medical records remained private. Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Dec. 2023 The intended addressee is unknown. Nr Editors, National Review, 20 Aug. 2020 The movement of the hand that holds the pen; the imprint of ink upon paper; the dignity and intimacy of the individual letter, written for a particular addressee (and hence so different from a blog or social-media post), without thought of other readers. Claire Messud, Harper's Magazine, 18 Aug. 2020 Put addressee’s name and address inside the package. Marc Bona, cleveland, 1 Dec. 2022 Letters accept the absence of their addressee and the asynchrony of contact—and out of those constraints make another kind of presence possible. Kamran Javadizadeh, The New Yorker, 8 Nov. 2021 By July 2017, Anwar had rebooted his business, forming a new corporation with a new name and ceasing to use Nand—the FDA warning letter's sole addressee—as his principal investigator. Brendan I. Koerner, Wired, 12 Oct. 2021 And there were the details of the addressee, which could be another lead. CNN, 16 Apr. 2021 If an addressee could not collect his or her mail at the Post Office, Lincoln delivered it personally, according to a USPS account. David Beard, National Geographic, 20 Aug. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'addressee.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1810, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of addressee was in 1810

Dictionary Entries Near addressee

Cite this Entry

“Addressee.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/addressee. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

addressee

noun
ad·​dress·​ee ˌad-ˌres-ˈē How to pronounce addressee (audio)
ə-ˌdres-ˈē
: one to whom mail is addressed

More from Merriam-Webster on addressee

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!