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

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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. )

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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

A letter making a "number of claims" relating to the Duchess of Sussex's father was received by the Metropolitan Police in 2019, Scotland Yard has confirmed.

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026

Goliath and eight other rides at five of the company’s parks remain closed as the investigation into the accident continues, the letter said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026

Late last week, Bogen sent a letter to CDC Director Erica Schwartz requesting that the state’s deaths be counted and demanding answers on how the agency is tracking measles fatalities.

From Salon ● Oct. 24, 2026

The Met said in a statement that it had in January 2019 "received a letter containing a number of claims about alleged offending outside the United Kingdom".

From Barron's ● Oct. 24, 2026

It began a few days ago when Mimi and I received your letter.

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

But inside the labs, researchers could see that the next generation of models wouldn’t have any trouble computing the number of letters in fruit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026

The building’s rooftop neon signage was apparently added a few decades later, along with the rounded letters that spell the hotel’s name and run vertically down one corner of the building.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026

Escobar can begin teaching them letters, syllables and how to put words together.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

But the letters included allegations alone, no evidence or data verifying DHS’s claims, which Weber said she flagged and asked to see, to no avail.

From Slate ● Oct. 22, 2026

And the fanciest plaque of all, with the words “Eighth-Grade Top Scholar Award” carved into the top in gold letters.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

By 1956, hospital births were becoming more common, and midwifery textbooks were recommending that a "wrist name-tape" or "string of lettered china beads" should be attached directly to the newborn.

From BBC ● Jun. 7, 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

He lettered three years as a punter and kicker in high school, and came to WSU as a preferred walk-on.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 17, 2023

And my name, my full name, prettily lettered on a card to tell the whole world who had created this mess.

From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly

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

The first three words are in smaller print on the side while “woman” is in large lettering across the front.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

“DF-15A” was printed in bold, black lettering on its side.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

This early-to-mid 19th century craft involves applying artwork, lettering and gold leaf backwards onto glass panes, as often seen in traditional pubs or shop fronts.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

That was when he spotted a sliver of a book with old, black binding and silver lettering that read Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste

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