letter

¹ American  

[let-er] / ˈlɛt ər /

noun

1. a written or printed communication addressed to a person or organization and usually transmitted by mail.

2. a symbol or character that is conventionally used in writing and printing to represent a speech sound and that is part of an alphabet.

3. a piece of printing type bearing such a symbol or character.

4. a particular style of type.

5. such types collectively.

6. Often letters a formal document granting a right or privilege.

7. actual terms or wording; literal meaning, as distinct from implied meaning or intent (opposed to spirit).

   the letter of the law.

8. (used with a singular or plural verb) letters,

   1. literature in general.

   2. the profession of literature.

   3. learning; knowledge, especially of literature.

9. an emblem consisting of the initial or monogram of a school, awarded to a student for extracurricular activity, especially in athletics.

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verb (used with object)

letters, present (3rd person singular) lettered, past participle, past lettering present participle

1. to mark or write with letters; inscribe.

   I picked up the crossword and lettered in P-E-A-R-L for the final clue.

verb (used without object)

letters, present (3rd person singular) lettered, past participle, past lettering present participle

1. to earn a letter in an interscholastic or intercollegiate activity, especially a sport.

   He lettered in track at Harvard.

idioms

1. to the letter, to the last particular; precisely.

   His orders were carried out to the letter.

letter ² American  

[let-er] / ˈlɛt ər /

noun

Chiefly British.

1. a person who lets, especially one who rents out property.

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letter British  

/ ˈlɛtə /

noun

1. 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

2. a written or printed communication addressed to a person, company, etc, usually sent by post in an envelope

3. the 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

4. archaic printing a style of typeface

   a fancy letter

5. 1. following the literal interpretation or wording exactly

   2. attending to every detail

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verb

1. to write or mark letters on (a sign, etc), esp by hand

2. (tr) to set down or print using letters

letter More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing letter

• bread and butter letter
• crank call (letter)
• dead letter
• four-letter word
• poison-pen letter
• red-letter day
• to the letter

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Synonym Usage

See literature.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• letterer
  noun
• letterless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• lettering
  present
• lettered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• letter
  simple
• letters
  simple
• have lettered
  perfect
• has lettered
  perfect
• am lettering
  progressive
• are lettering
  progressive
• is lettering
  progressive
• have been lettering
  perfect progressive
• has been lettering
  perfect progressive

Past

• lettered
  simple
• had lettered
  perfect
• was lettering
  progressive
• were lettering
  progressive
• had been lettering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will letter
  simple
• will have lettered
  perfect
• will be lettering
  progressive
• will have been lettering
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of letter¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English, variant of lettre, from Old French, from Latin littera “alphabetic character”; in plural, “epistle, literature”

Origin of letter²

First recorded in 1550–60; let ¹ + -er ¹ ( def. )

Explanation

A letter is one of the characters that make up the alphabet. When a child first learns to write, she often starts with the letters in her name. Then she can write a message, or letter, to her grandmother. The alphabet begins with the letters a, b, c, d. These are written as capital letters when they appear at the start of a sentence or a proper noun, such as a person's name. Another letter is the kind you write and send to someone through the mail. Letter comes from the Old French letre, "character, letter, or note," from the Latin littera, "letter of the alphabet," and also "a writing or document."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

letter letters lettered lettering

In July, Nvidia signed an open letter urging greater support of open models and asking policymakers to avoid “premature restrictions.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026

In a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he had "serious concerns" about some European governments.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

“FIFA already has access to extraordinary financial resources. The organization sits on billions of dollars in reserves and no debt,” Cordeiro pointed out in his resignation letter.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026

Your letter raises a broader question about choosing battles.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026

I’d just put together that I needed to hide the letter, and fast, when his hand shot out to grab it.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

The former staffers have sent “don’t you dare” letters to the commission, and one of them argued that the view of the downtown skyline would be cluttered and commercialized.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026

Many are delaying college to enter into active duty first, even if they already received acceptance letters.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

Did Mr. Mamdani time the letters for when New Yorkers might be on vacation?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

Two further charges that he had ignored the police letters and failed to identify himself as the guilty driver were withdrawn by police.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

Written on the door with beautiful flourishes in gold paint was a name, but time had faded most of the letters away so all that remained were two capital Cs.

From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el

"We have spoken with pupils in our schools and have also lettered parents for awareness."

From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2026

In the evening/night, I recommend time-stamping texts to friends and also having a prearranged meeting point, such as a numbered and lettered speaker column at the larger stages.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2025

And, in an odd side effect, it upended Khan el-Khalili’s normally placid gold jewelry and bullion stores, with their old-fashioned curly lettered signage and the Quranic recitations drifting ceaselessly from dusty speakers.

From New York Times ● Mar. 5, 2024

He lettered from 1963-65 on Kentucky’s varsity under Charlie Bradshaw after playing on the freshman squad and was a consensus first team All-America as a senior.

From Washington Times ● Oct. 30, 2023

Major Sanderson proudly lettered “Contradiction” on his pad with his thick black pencil.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

Among them, a worn “Army of Alphabetizers” badge from Cuba’s 1961 literacy campaign, its lettering nearly faded.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026

The illuminated manuscript depicting the four Gospels of the Christian New Testament has been described as "the work of angels" due to the complexity of its lettering and illustrations.

From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026

The white cap with gold lettering is a bit of Trump merch, currently on sale for $55.

From Salon ● Mar. 15, 2026

He completes the look with chestnut-brown Birkenstocks and a blue cap that says plants with Dodgers lettering.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 10, 2026

It was a half-page advertisement under a banner of bold, patriotic-style lettering.

From "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen

Related Words

• answer
• memo
• memorandum
• message
• note
• postcard
• reply
• report