letter
1 Americannoun
-
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.
-
(used with a singular or plural verb) letters,
-
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)
-
letters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
lettered,
past participle, past
-
lettering
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
letters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
lettered,
past participle, past
-
lettering
present participle
idioms
noun
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 envelope
-
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
-
archaic printing a style of typeface
a fancy 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
Synonym Usage
See literature.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
lettersimple
-
letterssimple
-
have letteredperfect
-
has letteredperfect
-
am letteringprogressive
-
are letteringprogressive
-
is letteringprogressive
-
have been letteringperfect progressive
-
has been letteringperfect progressive
Past
-
letteredsimple
-
had letteredperfect
-
was letteringprogressive
-
were letteringprogressive
-
had been letteringperfect progressive
Future
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."
Vocabulary lists containing letter
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Foundational Reading
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Lessons 2–3
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The warnings came as Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei disclosed on Saturday that he had received a letter from US Vice President JD Vance seeking to revive talks.
From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026
After the Journal’s story, members of the House Oversight Committee received a copy of the birthday book, provided by lawyers from Epstein’s estate, containing the letter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026
Wallace resigned from public office in October 2025 soon after she confessed in a letter to the Tahoe Daily Tribune that she had taken funds from the church.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026
The judge voiced skepticism during the hearing of Brito’s assertion that the article said Trump personally authored, drew and signed the letter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026
Mr. Lew raised the letter to his face again.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
All the information on the ballot is in English, she said, and the letters are small.
From Salon ● Oct. 31, 2026
“Said the Dead” is, among other things, Lucia’s biography, gleaned from letters, accounts of marriages, births and deaths, and reports of her pioneering work in psychiatry.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
Officials say international supply disruptions linked to the Iran war have compounded the problem, with banks struggling to honour letters of credit and some overseas suppliers demanding upfront payment.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
How many rejection letters from the same high school does it take for a football coach to conclude the school doesn’t want to hire you?
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
She tries to keep the desk tidy, but it is always littered with papers, writing supplies, and letters.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
I took a pass on it and instead played on the frosh-soph basketball team and lettered in tennis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
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
Sitting in front of the Wales Millennium Centre's famous lettered windows, Mr Farrow said the cost of "just opening the doors and running this facility" has gone up by £1m per year since 2019.
From BBC ● Nov. 18, 2023
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
And all around these neatly lettered words, scribbles had been added by other witches and wizards who had come to see the place where the Boy Who Lived had escaped.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
In the latest instance, White & Case last week unveiled new corporate branding that includes lettering inspired by ancient legal slabs and photographic effects echoing rocket launches.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
I can still picture the tram driver who patched together my grandmother’s clunker and the sign maker lettering Jesus’ words along the road.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
In December, the board decided to rename the institution and new lettering bearing Trump's full name was affixed to the centre's front portico the next day.
From BBC ● May 29, 2026
Accessorizing the lock box was a button with bold white lettering screaming at me to “PUSH FOR ASSISTANCE.”
From Salon ● May 22, 2026
The black lettering is the same as all the other words I’ve been given.
From "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
