letter

[ let-er ]

/ ˈlɛt ər /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR letter ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a written or printed communication addressed to a person or organization and usually transmitted by mail.

a symbol or character that is conventionally used in writing and printing to represent a speech sound and that is part of an alphabet.

a piece of printing type bearing such a symbol or character.

a particular style of type.

such types collectively.

Often letters. a formal document granting a right or privilege.

actual terms or wording; literal meaning, as distinct from implied meaning or intent (opposed to spirit): the letter of the law.

letters, (used with a singular or plural verb)

literature in general.
the profession of literature.
learning; knowledge, especially of literature.

an emblem consisting of the initial or monogram of a school, awarded to a student for extracurricular activity, especially in athletics.

verb (used with object)

to mark or write with letters; inscribe.

verb (used without object)

to earn a letter in an interscholastic or intercollegiate activity, especially a sport: He lettered in track at Harvard.

QUIZZES

TAKE ROUND 2 OF OUR PSAT VOCABULARY QUIZ!

Here is our second set of teacher-selected PSAT vocabulary words. Do you know the meanings of these terms?

Question 1 of 10

advocate

to give up possession or occupancy of.

to speak or write in favor of; support or urge by argument; recommend publicly.

to pronounce or decree by judicial sentence.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms for letter

to the letter, to the last particular; precisely: His orders were carried out to the letter.

Origin of letter

1175–1225; Middle English, variant of lettre < Old French < Latin littera alphabetic character, in plural, epistle, literature

SYNONYMS FOR letter

8 See literature.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR letter ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM letter

let·ter·er, nounlet·ter·less, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH letter

letter lighter liter litter

Words nearby letter

letronne, lets, lett, lett., letted, letter, letter bomb, letter box, letter card, letter carrier, letter drop

Definition for letter (2 of 2)

letter²

[ let-er ]

/ ˈlɛt ər /

noun Chiefly British.

a person who lets, especially one who rents out property.

Origin of letter

1375–1425; late Middle English letere; see let¹, -er¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for letter

Your letter highlights so many of the harsh realities trans people face, specifically in regard to how society rejects us.
Dear Leelah, We Will Fight On For You: A Letter to a Dead Trans Teen|Parker Molloy|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Copies of the letter were sent to senior members of the church hierarchy and to the Soviet government.
Remembering the Russian Priest Who Fought the Orthodox Church|Cathy Young|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
So, feeling “a little loopy” from beers, he sat down and wrote a letter to Santa Claus.
Kerry Bentivolio: The Congressman Who Believes in Santa Claus|Ben Jacobs|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I have never gotten one letter in my office about one of those.
A Field General in the War on Christmas|David Freedlander|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST

And from there, the letter asked for money for a legal defense fund.
The Monsters Who Screamed for Dead Cops|Jacob Siegel|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This part of this letter was written, as Johnson goes on to say, a considerable time before the conclusion.
Life Of Johnson, Volume 4 (of 6)|Boswell
The impressions of one of his most intimate friends, as conveyed at the time by letter, may fitly be quoted here.
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. 2, No. 8, January, 1851|Various
About the time at which I suppose this letter to have been written there is, in fact, a payment of 40 to J.L.
Great Ghost Stories|Various
Here is his letter, and I hope you will tell me candidly what you think.
The Perpetual Curate|Mrs [Margaret] Oliphant
But the letter was, as you may imagine, written so that the writer should come to no harm were it intercepted.
Barry Lyndon|William Makepeace Thackeray

British Dictionary definitions for letter

letter

/ (ˈlɛtə) /

noun

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

a written or printed communication addressed to a person, company, etc, usually sent by post in an envelopeRelated adjective: epistolary

the letter 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 (def. 10)

printing archaic a style of typefacea fancy letter

to the letter

following the literal interpretation or wording exactly
attending to every detail

verb

to write or mark letters on (a sign, etc), esp by hand

(tr) to set down or print using letters

Derived forms of letter

letterer, noun

Word Origin for letter

C13: from Old French lettre, from Latin littera letter of the alphabet

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with letter

letter

In addition to the idiom beginning with letter

letter of the law

also see:

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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letter