correspondence

American  

[kawr-uh-spon-duhns, kor-] / ˌkɔr əˈspɒn dəns, ˌkɒr- /

noun

correspondences plural

1. communication by exchange of letters.

2. a letter or letters that pass between correspondents.

   It will take me all day to answer this business correspondence.

3. Also an instance of corresponding.

4. similarity or analogy.

5. agreement; conformity.

   Synonyms:

   consonance, concord, accord

6. news, commentary, letters, etc., received from a newspaper or magazine correspondent.

7. Mathematics. function.

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correspondence British  

/ ˌkɒrɪˈspɒndəns /

noun

1. the act or condition of agreeing or corresponding

2. similarity or analogy

3. agreement or conformity

4. 1. communication by the exchange of letters

   2. the letters so exchanged

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• noncorrespondence
  noun
• precorrespondence
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• correspondences
  plural

Etymology

Origin of correspondence

1375–1425; late Middle English (< Middle French ) < Medieval Latin corrēspondentia. See correspondent, -ence

Explanation

Correspondence is a body of letters or communications. If you've ever had a pen pal or an email buddy, you’ve written plenty of correspondence. Besides referring to that stack of love letters you've bound up with ribbon, correspondence has a couple of other meanings, too. When you and your friend hold similar opinions about a particular subject, your thoughts are in correspondence, or "agreement." In mathematics, symmetrical objects are in correspondence — that is, they mirror each other exactly.

Example Sentences

A Pentagon spokesperson declined to answer questions from ProPublica, noting: “As with all congressional correspondence, the Department will respond directly to the authors.”

From Salon • Jul. 7, 2026

The correspondence threatens legal action against the Forum’s trustees.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 6, 2026

You must be able to read and respond to work-related correspondence in a timely fashion, which means you need access to your phone, laptop and a wifi signal or hotspot.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 30, 2026

Details of the letter and other correspondence were described to The Times by two district sources who reviewed the document.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 28, 2026

Even on the First Lady's side, staffers were putting together contact lists, calendars, and sample correspondence to help me find my footing when it came to the social obligations that came with the title.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Related Words

• writing