correspond

American  

[kawr-uh-spond, kor-] / ˌkɔr əˈspɒnd, ˌkɒr- /

verb (used without object)

1. to be in agreement or conformity (often followed by with orto ).

   His actions do not correspond with his words.

   Synonyms:

   tally, match, harmonize

2. to be similar or analogous; be equivalent in function, position, amount, etc. (usually followed byto ).

   The U.S. Congress corresponds to the British Parliament.

3. to communicate by exchange of letters.

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correspond British  

/ ˌkɒrɪˈspɒnd /

verb

1. to conform, be in agreement, or be consistent or compatible (with); tally (with)

2. (usually foll by to) to be similar or analogous in character or function

3. (usually foll by with) to communicate by letter

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Related Words

Correspond, agree, accord imply comparing persons or things and finding that they harmonize. Correspond suggests having an obvious similarity, though not agreeing in every detail: Part of this report corresponds with the facts. Agree implies having or arriving at a condition in which no essential difference of opinion or detail is evident: All the reports agree. Accord emphasizes agreeing exactly, both in fact and in point of view: This report accords with the other.

Other Word Forms

• correspondingly
  adverb
• precorrespond
  verb (used without object)

Etymology

Origin of correspond

First recorded in 1520–30; from Middle French, from Medieval Latin corrēspondēre; equivalent to cor- + respond

Explanation

When two things correspond, they match up or are equivalent to one another. You might come up with a code in which numbers correspond to letters of the alphabet. Correspond can also mean to send messages back and forth. You can use your code to correspond with your pen pal. The word correspond can mean "communicating back and forth," like using email to correspond with a far-away cousin. It can also mean "be alike," as in having friends whose interests and personalities correspond to your own. Finally, it can be "be equal to," as in getting a score on a standardized test that corresponds with those of students taking the same subjects as you but who live in other states or countries.

Example Sentences

Even the conservative core CPI inflation reading would correspond to at least a 25-basis-point increase to the Fed’s current target range.

From MarketWatch • May 13, 2026

Chile's health ministry said the two passengers who died were not infected in that country as they travelled there at "a period that does not correspond to the incubation time".

From Barron's • May 7, 2026

For torus-shaped surfaces, earlier work showed that a single set of metric and mean curvature values could correspond to as many as two different shapes.

From Science Daily • Apr. 22, 2026

“The ability to say a memo or a piece of analysis talked about something in a certain way, but that doesn’t correspond or isn’t supported by the underlying data, is incredibly powerful,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

Or at least stamps and stationery so he didn't have to spend his money to correspond with me?

From "I Will Always Write Back" by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda

Related Words

• coincide
• compare
• conform
• correlate
• dovetail
• harmonize
• resemble
• tally