envelope
noun
en路ve路lope
| \ 藞en-v蓹-藢l艒p
, 藞盲n-
\
, 藞盲n-
\
Definition of envelope
1
: a flat usually paper container (as for a letter)
3a
: the outer covering of an aerostat
b
: the bag containing the gas in a balloon or airship
4a
: a natural enclosing covering (such as a membrane, shell, or integument)
b
: a lipoprotein unit membrane that forms the outer layer of some virions
5a
: a curve tangent to each of a family of curves
b
: a surface tangent to each of a family of surfaces
6
: a set of performance limits (as of an aircraft) that may not be safely exceeded
also
: the set of operating parameters that exists within these limits
7
: a conventionally accepted limit
new computers that push the envelope
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Examples of envelope in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Several disaster preparedness websites suggest breaking it out into smaller bills and stashing it away in an envelope. — Shwanika Narayan, SFChronicle.com, "How to cope with PG&E鈥檚 power shut-offs," 31 Aug. 2019 There was always a surprise photo or two to be found somewhere in the envelope of prints. — Kalyn Kahler, SI.com, "An Unfiltered Look at NFL Training Camps Across the League," 29 Aug. 2019 In 2018 the National Election Office ruled thousands of postal votes invalid because the tamper-proof tape on the envelopes had been opened. — The Economist, "How Viktor Orban hollowed out Hungary鈥檚 democracy," 29 Aug. 2019 In the envelope were a computer memory stick, documents and photographs of a ship docked at a nearby port. — New York Times, "Missionary, Businessman, Prisoner, Spy: An American鈥檚 Odyssey in North Korea," 9 Aug. 2019 Then, package your sample in an envelope, drop it into the mailbox, and give yourself a pat on the back. — Meilan Solly, Smithsonian, "Smithsonian Scientists Need Ginkgo Leaves to Study Climate Change鈥擳hey Need Your Help," 6 Aug. 2019 Also in every envelope there is Narcan, in case of need. — Salman Rushdie, The New Yorker, "The Little King," 22 July 2019 Balaji also wrapped some cash in an envelope and visited his friends at the visa office. — Abhijith Ravinutala, chicagotribune.com, "2019 Algren Awards: Finalist: Definition(s)," 20 July 2019 Then, Laskowski asked him to seal the form in an envelope, and after the handyman licked the flap, the officer left. — oregonlive.com, "Decades after a couple was killed on a hiking trail, a sealed envelope leads to an arrest," 3 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'envelope.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for envelope
envelope
noun
English Language Learners Definition of envelope
: an enclosing cover for a letter, card, etc.
See the full definition for envelope in the English Language Learners Dictionary
envelope
noun
en路ve路lope
| \ 藞en-v蓹-藢l艒p
, 藞盲n-\
, 藞盲n-\
Kids Definition of envelope
: a flat usually paper container (as for a letter)
envelope
noun
en路ve路lope
| \ 藞en-v蓹-藢l艒p
, 藞盲n-
\
, 藞盲n-
\
Medical Definition of envelope
: a natural enclosing covering (as a membrane or integument)
especially
: a lipoprotein unit membrane that forms the outer layer of some virions and surrounds the viral capsid
These glycoprotein complexes, swept up by the budding virus as it acquires its envelope, are crucial to HIV's ability to infect new cells. — William A. Haseltine et al., Scientific American, October 1988