letter
/ˈletər/ noun [C]Definition
› COMMUNICATIONS a written message from one person to another, usually put in an envelope and sent by mail: by letter You will receive an acknowledgement by letter.get/receive a letter (from sb) I got a letter from my lawyer this morning.deliver/post/send a letter I sent a letter about the problem to HQ last week.draft/write/sign a letter The letter was signed by the managing director.reply to/acknowledge/answer a letter I wrote to the company but they did not even acknowledge my letter.a confirmation/rejection/warning letter You will receive a confirmation letter within 10 working days.an accompanying/a covering letter Please find enclosed my CV and a covering letter.a formal/an informal letter He wrote a formal letter of resignation. The letter was addressed to John Clarke. a letter dated 3rd March 2010
› any of the set of symbols used to write a language, representing a sound in the language: the letter D an upper-case/lower-case letter (= A/a or B/b)
the letter of the law formal › LAW the exact words of a law and not its more important general meaning: The bank was operating within the letter of the law.
to the letter › if you obey instructions or rules to the letter, you do exactly what you have been told to do, giving great attention to every detail: I followed the instructions to the letter and it still went wrong.
→ See also allocation letter, application letter, appointment letter, bank authorization letter, commitment letter, covering letter, cover letter, credit dispute letter, engagement letter, form letter, letter of comfort, regret letter(Definition of letter noun from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary
© Cambridge University Press)
Browse the Dictionary
Browse the Thesaurus
More Results for “letter”
Word of the Day
ride (out) the storm
to manage not to be destroyed, harmed or permanently affected by the difficult situation you...
Blog
Read our blog about how the English language behaves.
New Words
Find words and meanings that have just started to be used in English, and let us know what you think of them.
