open letter

American  

noun

1. a letter, often of protest or criticism, addressed to a specific person, but intended to be brought to public attention.

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open letter British  

noun

1. a letter, esp one of protest, addressed to a person but also made public, as through the press

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Other Word Forms

• open-letter
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of open letter

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

open letter

More than a thousand actors and producers sent an open letter protesting the merger in April.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

It’s built into enough of a mystery that Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, wrote an open letter to McConnell on Wednesday requesting that he update Kentuckians on the status of his health.

From Slate ● Jul. 11, 2026

Björn Birnir is the chair of the Mathematics department at UC Santa Barbara, and one of only two math chairs in the system who did not sign the open letter.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

In response to the review, NUH chairman Nick Carver and chief executive May issued an open letter, addressed to "the people and communities of Nottinghamshire".

From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026

In an open letter to township residents and policy makers, he criticized “idiosyncratic alternatives” to public districts, many of them “owned and operated by large national corporations whose number one mission is to enrich shareholders.”

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove