mail and male are homophones: they are pronounced identically and spelled differently, which is why they are so often swapped. mail means “the bags of letters and packages that are transported by the postal service”. male means “an animal that produces gametes (spermatozoa) that can fertilize female gametes (ova)”. male is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/ˈmeɪl/
1.n.the bags of letters and packages that are transported by the postal service
2.n.the system whereby messages are transmitted via the post office
“the mail handles billions of items every day”
3.n.a conveyance that transports the letters and packages that are conveyed by the postal system
/ˈmeɪl/
| male | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈmeɪl/ | /ˈmeɪl/ |
| Said | mayl | mayl |
| Syllables | 1 | 1 |
| Letters | 4 | 4 |
| Parts of speech | noun, verb | noun, adjective |
| Senses | 7 | 6 |
| How common | Common | Core |
| Synonyms | none recorded | none recorded |
Full entry for mail · Full entry for male · More comparisons
1.n.an animal that produces gametes (spermatozoa) that can fertilize female gametes (ova)
2.n.a person who belongs to the sex that cannot have babies
3.n.the capital of Maldives in the center of the islands