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.

---

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

---

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

See Examples For:

correspondence correspondences

Wasserman has said he regretted his correspondence with Maxwell, noting that it happened “long before her horrific crimes came to light.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2026

They also studied historical records, technical reports, correspondence, and other archival documents to reconstruct the reactor's capabilities and determine what would have been required for it to work.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

Det Ch Supt Luke Williams outlined the details of the "astonishing" case in correspondence to local politicians, which was later shared by Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

They have taken off in recent weeks, managing users’ email correspondence, travel itineraries and more.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

The correspondence between theories and facts was so crucial that Galileo and Newton were prepared to bend the facts to fit the theories, even while insisting on the priority of experience over theory.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Etta provided email correspondences to the outlet and said the “Morbius” actor encouraged her to stay in contact via text after the invite.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026

Especially when the correspondences between art and garment are so pleasurable—continuously surprising and poetically persuasive.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 9, 2026

The agency declined to share correspondences between staffers due to the continuing investigation, the report said.

From Barron's ● Feb. 23, 2026

“These cross modal correspondences are shared across people. Is it across everybody? Is it universal? Sometimes, perhaps yes,” Spence said.

From Salon ● Feb. 15, 2025

I set my cigar box full of Jemma’s old correspondences on the bench beside me, and I opened a few newspapers scavenged from the depot.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• writing

---