ENVELOPE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does envelope mean? 

• ENVELOPE (noun)
  The noun ENVELOPE has 6 senses:

1. a flat (usually rectangular) container for a letter, thin package, etc.

2. any wrapper or covering

3. a curve that is tangent to each of a family of curves

4. a natural covering (as by a fluid)

5. the maximum operating capability of a system (especially an aircraft)

6. the bag containing the gas in a balloon

  Familiarity information: ENVELOPE used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ENVELOPE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A flat (usually rectangular) container for a letter, thin package, etc.

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("envelope" is a kind of...):

container (any object that can be used to hold things (especially a large metal boxlike object of standardized dimensions that can be loaded from one form of transport to another))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "envelope"):

window envelope (an envelope with a transparent panel that reveals the address on the enclosure)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Any wrapper or covering

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("envelope" is a kind of...):

wrap; wrapper; wrapping (the covering (usually paper or cellophane) in which something is wrapped)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A curve that is tangent to each of a family of curves

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Hypernyms ("envelope" is a kind of...):

curve; curved shape (the trace of a point whose direction of motion changes)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A natural covering (as by a fluid)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Context example:

the spacecraft detected an envelope of gas around the comet

Hypernyms ("envelope" is a kind of...):

cover; covering; natural covering (a natural object that covers or envelops)

Sense 5

Meaning:

The maximum operating capability of a system (especially an aircraft)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Context example:

test pilots try to push the envelope

Hypernyms ("envelope" is a kind of...):

operating capability; performance capability (the capability of a technological system to perform as intended)

Sense 6

Meaning:

The bag containing the gas in a balloon

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

envelope; gasbag

Hypernyms ("envelope" is a kind of...):

bag (a flexible container with a single opening)

Holonyms ("envelope" is a part of...):

balloon (large tough nonrigid bag filled with gas or heated air)

 Context examples 

He mailed the manuscript in a flat envelope, and addressed it to the editor of the San Francisco Examiner.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

“William received a letter by the afternoon post yesterday. The envelope was destroyed by him.”

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The protein is localized to the viral envelope and mediates fusion between viral and cellular membranes.

(HIV Envelope Protein gp120, NCI Thesaurus)

A recombinant HIV gp120 envelope protein with potential use in HIV vaccine therapy.

(gp-120 Antigen, NCI Thesaurus)

A fibrous envelope of tissue that surrounds the kidney.

(Gerota's capsule, NCI Dictionary)

The envelope may play a role in helping a virus survive and infect other cells.

(Enveloped virus, NCI Dictionary)

A protein produced by influenza viruses that can link the core material in the virus to the viral envelope.

(Flu Matrix Protein, NCI Thesaurus)

External envelope protein of the human immunodeficiency virus which is encoded by the HIV env gene.

(HIV Envelope Protein gp120, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

He held up a little note with a coat-of-arms upon the envelope.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The HSV envelope contains at least 8 glycoproteins.

(Human Herpesvirus 1, NCI Thesaurus)