junk mail

1. 1.

   third-class mail consisting of advertising and often addressed to `resident' or `occupant'

   Broaderthird-class mail

Questions about junk mail

What does junk mail mean?

junk mail means "third-class mail consisting of advertising and often addressed to `resident' or `occupant'".

Is junk mail a common word?

junk mail is banded "Uncommon" — turns up in careful writing rather than conversation. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.