a written or printed communication addressed to a person or organization and usually transmitted by mail.
a symbol or character that is conventionally used in writing and printing to represent a speech sound and that is part of an alphabet.
a piece of printing type bearing such a symbol or character.
a particular style of type.
such types collectively.
Often letters.a formal document granting a right or privilege.
actual terms or wording; literal meaning, as distinct from implied meaning or intent (opposed to spirit): the letter of the law.
letters, (used with a singular or plural verb)
literature in general.
the profession of literature.
learning; knowledge, especially of literature.
an emblem consisting of the initial or monogram of a school, awarded to a student for extracurricular activity, especially in athletics.
verb (used with object)
to mark or write with letters; inscribe.
verb (used without object)
to earn a letter in an interscholastic or intercollegiate activity, especially a sport: He lettered in track at Harvard.
Idioms for letter
to the letter, to the last particular; precisely: His orders were carried out to the letter.
Origin of letter
1
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English, variant of lettre, from Old French, from Latin littera “alphabetic character,” in plural, “epistle, literature”
synonym study for letter
8. See literature.
OTHER WORDS FROM letter
let·ter·er,nounlet·ter·less,adjective
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH letter
letter , lighter, liter, litter
Words nearby letter
let someone, let someone down, let someone have it, Lett, letted, letter, letter bomb, letterbox, letterboxing, letter-card, letter carrier
Definition for letter (2 of 2)
letter2
[ let-er ]
/ ˈlɛt ər /
nounChiefly British.
a person who lets, especially one who rents out property.
Origin of letter
2
1375–1425; late Middle English letere;see let1, -er1
She did urge the county to take out SDSU students from the statistics, and they’re going to send a letter to the state asking that the SDSU numbers not be included in the calculation of the county’s tier status.
Morning Report: The Dreaded Purple Tier|Voice of San Diego|September 16, 2020|Voice of San Diego
I could name many of them who, for example, organized and signed a letter of support for me in 1991.
Can Anita Hill Forgive Joe Biden … and Work With Him?|Pallabi Munsi|September 14, 2020|Ozy
That’s why Ivan tells Selin that his love for her is “for the person writing your letters.”
The true love story in Elif Batuman’s The Idiot is a love affair with language|Constance Grady|September 11, 2020|Vox
Let’s get to the letter of the law, as Apple is a stickler for precision when it comes to these rules.
Apple lays out its messy vision for how xCloud and Stadia will work with its App Store rules|Lucas Matney|September 11, 2020|TechCrunch
Obviously, thankfully, that letter never needed to be opened, but I wrote that letter that tells your loved ones what you want them to know.
Pete Buttigieg Says Dems Did Not Coordinate to Seal Biden’s Primary Win|Nick Fouriezos|September 9, 2020|Ozy
Your letter highlights so many of the harsh realities trans people face, specifically in regard to how society rejects us.
Dear Leelah, We Will Fight On For You: A Letter to a Dead Trans Teen|Parker Molloy|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Copies of the letter were sent to senior members of the church hierarchy and to the Soviet government.
Remembering the Russian Priest Who Fought the Orthodox Church|Cathy Young|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
So, feeling “a little loopy” from beers, he sat down and wrote a letter to Santa Claus.
Kerry Bentivolio: The Congressman Who Believes in Santa Claus|Ben Jacobs|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I have never gotten one letter in my office about one of those.
A Field General in the War on Christmas|David Freedlander|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And from there, the letter asked for money for a legal defense fund.
The Monsters Who Screamed for Dead Cops|Jacob Siegel|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This part of this letter was written, as Johnson goes on to say, a considerable time before the conclusion.
Life Of Johnson, Volume 4 (of 6)|Boswell
The impressions of one of his most intimate friends, as conveyed at the time by letter, may fitly be quoted here.
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. 2, No. 8, January, 1851|Various
About the time at which I suppose this letter to have been written there is, in fact, a payment of 40 to J.L.
Great Ghost Stories|Various
Here is his letter, and I hope you will tell me candidly what you think.
The Perpetual Curate|Mrs [Margaret] Oliphant
But the letter was, as you may imagine, written so that the writer should come to no harm were it intercepted.
Barry Lyndon|William Makepeace Thackeray
British Dictionary definitions for letter
letter
/ (ˈlɛtə) /
noun
any of a set of conventional symbols used in writing or printing a language, each symbol being associated with a group of phonetic values in the language; character of the alphabet
a written or printed communication addressed to a person, company, etc, usually sent by post in an envelopeRelated adjective: epistolary
the letterthe strict legalistic or pedantic interpretation of the meaning of an agreement, document, etc; exact wording as distinct from actual intention (esp in the phrase the letter of the law)Compare spirit 1 (def. 10)
printingarchaica style of typefacea fancy letter
to the letter
following the literal interpretation or wording exactly
attending to every detail
verb
to write or mark letters on (a sign, etc), esp by hand
(tr)to set down or print using letters
See also letters
Derived forms of letter
letterer, noun
Word Origin for letter
C13: from Old French lettre, from Latin littera letter of the alphabet
Other Ways To Say “To Whom It May Concern”There are few instances that require the stoic formality of "To Whom It May Concern." Learn about those, and what you can say in every other instance.