letter
1 Americannoun
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a written or printed communication addressed to a person or organization and usually transmitted by mail.
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a symbol or character that is conventionally used in writing and printing to represent a speech sound and that is part of an alphabet.
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a piece of printing type bearing such a symbol or character.
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a particular style of type.
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such types collectively.
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Often letters a formal document granting a right or privilege.
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actual terms or wording; literal meaning, as distinct from implied meaning or intent (opposed to spirit).
the letter of the law.
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(used with a singular or plural verb) letters,
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literature in general.
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the profession of literature.
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learning; knowledge, especially of literature.
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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)
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letters,
present (3rd person singular)
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lettered,
past participle, past
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lettering
present participle
verb (used without object)
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letters,
present (3rd person singular)
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lettered,
past participle, past
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lettering
present participle
idioms
noun
noun
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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
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a written or printed communication addressed to a person, company, etc, usually sent by post in an envelope
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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
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archaic printing a style of typeface
a fancy letter
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following the literal interpretation or wording exactly
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attending to every detail
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verb
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to write or mark letters on (a sign, etc), esp by hand
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(tr) to set down or print using letters
Synonym Usage
See literature.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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lettersimple
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letterssimple
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have letteredperfect
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has letteredperfect
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am letteringprogressive
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are letteringprogressive
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is letteringprogressive
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have been letteringperfect progressive
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has been letteringperfect progressive
Past
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letteredsimple
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had letteredperfect
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was letteringprogressive
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were letteringprogressive
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had been letteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of letter1
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English, variant of lettre, from Old French, from Latin littera “alphabetic character”; in plural, “epistle, literature”
Origin of letter2
First recorded in 1550–60; let 1 + -er 1 ( def. )
Explanation
A letter is one of the characters that make up the alphabet. When a child first learns to write, she often starts with the letters in her name. Then she can write a message, or letter, to her grandmother. The alphabet begins with the letters a, b, c, d. These are written as capital letters when they appear at the start of a sentence or a proper noun, such as a person's name. Another letter is the kind you write and send to someone through the mail. Letter comes from the Old French letre, "character, letter, or note," from the Latin littera, "letter of the alphabet," and also "a writing or document."
Vocabulary lists containing letter
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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Foundational Reading
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Lessons 2–3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The grounded series — more a love letter to Hollywood than superhero spectacle — was well-received by critics and fans.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Todd Blanche, then serving as deputy attorney general, told Martin to rescind the letter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
In the second letter, signed “always,” Harp describes being envious of people “whose only ‘job’ seems to be to talk with you, and look pretty,” adding “I want that job!!”
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026
Like I said to the previous letter writer, there’s no right or wrong way to go about that.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
She thought she got a letter from Luc.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
As the Daily Beast notes, the letters were written when Harp was 31 and Trump was 76.
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026
It was Smith, the man of letters, who is remembered for the phrase “invisible hand.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Maybe someday I’d have the opportunity to give those letters to my grandchildren when they were old enough to understand why they had an absent grandfather.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
Across the top, in chunky yellow letters, it reads “Phodega.”
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
Different areas of the cortex let you recognize letters in a book or faces in a crowd, or know whether you are standing upright.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
Team will be randomly chosen — or drawn — from each pot and assigned to one of the World Cup groups, lettered A through L in alphabetical order.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 1, 2025
Sitting in front of the Wales Millennium Centre's famous lettered windows, Mr Farrow said the cost of "just opening the doors and running this facility" has gone up by £1m per year since 2019.
From BBC ● Nov. 18, 2023
He lettered from 1963-65 on Kentucky’s varsity under Charlie Bradshaw after playing on the freshman squad and was a consensus first team All-America as a senior.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 30, 2023
He lettered three years as a punter and kicker in high school, and came to WSU as a preferred walk-on.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 17, 2023
The title of the book was lettered in bold, dark calligraphy: Tales of Wonder and Grace.
From "Ash" by Malinda Lo
Mosaic tile lettering on the floors marking each apartment number is a recreation of the originals.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
The gold lettering reads, “Gracias Dios por este logro — Thank you, God, for this accomplishment.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
The illuminated manuscript depicting the four Gospels of the Christian New Testament has been described as "the work of angels" due to the complexity of its lettering and illustrations.
From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026
Seoul’s iconic landmarks, from the Namsan Seoul Tower to a historic royal-palace gate, were illuminated with the “Arirang” lettering.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026
He held up the large calf-bound folio, and I saw by its gilt lettering that it was a book of anatomy by Vesalius.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
