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letter
1[ let-er ]
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 ( 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:
I picked up the crossword and lettered in P-E-A-R-L for the final clue.
verb (used without object)
- to earn a letter in an interscholastic or intercollegiate activity, especially a sport:
He lettered in track at Harvard.
letter
2[ let-er ]
noun
- a person who lets, especially one who rents out property.
letter
/ ˈɛə /
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 envelope epistolary
- the letterthe 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
- archaic.printing a style of typeface
a 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
- ˈٳٱ, noun
Other Word Forms
- t· noun
- t· adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of letter1
Origin of letter2
Word History and Origins
Origin of letter1
Idioms and Phrases
- to the letter, to the last particular; precisely:
His orders were carried out to the letter.
More idioms and phrases containing letter
In addition to the idiom beginning with letter , also see bread and butter letter ; crank call (letter) ; dead letter ; four-letter word ; poison-pen letter ; red-letter day ; to the letter .Synonym Study
Example Sentences
Andy Hacking, 61, said he bought the RAF uniform about five years ago in a shop in Ramsbottom, Greater Manchester, and discovered the letter in a pocket with a post mark dated 17 December 1945.
On race day, Lucy will be wearing a Macmillan top with the letters 'MUM' on the back.
With the state running out of its current combination of license plate numbers and letters, California plans to launch a new license plate sequence for newly registered vehicles starting next year.
"I'm switching letters!" she told Beard, joking that she was moving from the L to the Q in LGBTQ.
And it comes two weeks after the California Department of Education defended the legality of DEI efforts in a letter to school district superintendents.
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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.
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