Letter — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

a written message addressed to a person or organization

the conventional characters of the alphabet used to represent speech

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/lˈɛɾɚ/

🇬🇧British English

/lˈɛtə/

🇮🇳Indian English

/lˈɛtə/

2 syllables Say it as /lˈɛɾɚ/.

Examples

mailed an indignant letter to the editor
his grandmother taught him his letters
he followed instructions to the letter

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

letter of the alphabet varsity letter alphabetic character missive

Parts of Speech

noun	a written message addressed to a person or organization “mailed an indignant letter to the editor”
noun	the conventional characters of the alphabet used to represent speech “his grandmother taught him his letters”
noun	owner who lets another person use something (housing usually) for hire
noun	a strictly literal interpretation (as distinct from the intention) “he followed instructions to the letter”
noun	an award earned by participation in a school sport “he won letters in three sports”
verb	win an athletic letter
verb	set down or print with letters
verb	mark letters on or mark with letters

Word Forms

letter	verb	mark letters on or mark with letters
let	verb	grant use or occupation of under a term of contract
letter	noun	an award earned by participation in a school sport
letterer	noun	a painter of letters

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Brief

eine schriftliche Nachricht, die an eine Person oder Organisation gerichtet ist

🇫🇷French

lettre

un message écrit adressé à une personne ou à une organisation

🇪🇸Spanish

carta

un mensaje escrito dirigido a una persona u organización

🇮🇹Italian

lettera

un messaggio scritto indirizzato a una persona o organizzazione

🇳🇱Dutch

brief

een geschreven bericht gericht aan een persoon of organisatie

🇵🇹Portuguese

carta

uma mensagem escrita dirigida a uma pessoa ou organização

🇷🇺Russian

письмо

письменное сообщение, адресованное лицу или организации

India

🇮🇳Hindi

पत्र

किसी व्यक्ति या संगठन को संबोधित एक लिखित संदेश

🇧🇩Bengali

চিঠি

একটি ব্যক্তি বা সংস্থাকে সম্বোধন করা একটি লিখিত বার্তা

🇮🇳Tamil

கடிதம்

ஒரு நபர் அல்லது நிறுவனத்திற்கு எழுதப்பட்ட செய்தி

🇮🇳Telugu

లేఖ

ఒక వ్యక్తి లేదా సంస్థను ఉద్దేశించి వ్రాసిన సందేశం

🇮🇳Marathi

पत्र

एखाद्या व्यक्तीला किंवा संस्थेला उद्देशून लिहिलेला संदेश

🇮🇳Gujarati

પત્ર

વ્યક્તિ અથવા સંસ્થાને સંબોધિત લેખિત સંદેશ

🇮🇳Kannada

ಪತ್ರ

ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ ಅಥವಾ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆಯನ್ನು ಉದ್ದೇಶಿಸಿ ಬರೆಯಲಾದ ಸಂದೇಶ

🇮🇳Malayalam

കത്ത്

ഒരു വ്യക്തിയെയോ സ്ഥാപനത്തെയോ അഭിസംബോധന ചെയ്യുന്ന രേഖാമൂലമുള്ള സന്ദേശം

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਪੱਤਰ

ਇੱਕ ਵਿਅਕਤੀ ਜਾਂ ਸੰਸਥਾ ਨੂੰ ਸੰਬੋਧਿਤ ਇੱਕ ਲਿਖਤੀ ਸੁਨੇਹਾ

🇵🇰Urdu

خط

ایک تحریری پیغام جو کسی شخص یا تنظیم کو مخاطب کیا گیا ہو۔

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

信

写给个人或组织的书面信息

🇯🇵Japanese

手紙

個人または組織に宛てられた書面によるメッセージ

🇰🇷Korean

편지

개인이나 조직에게 보내는 서면 메시지

🇻🇳Vietnamese

thư

một tin nhắn bằng văn bản gửi đến một người hoặc tổ chức

🇹🇭Thai

จดหมาย

ข้อความที่เป็นลายลักษณ์อักษรที่ส่งถึงบุคคลหรือองค์กร

🇮🇩Indonesian

surat

pesan tertulis yang ditujukan kepada seseorang atau organisasi

🇵🇭Filipino

sulat

isang nakasulat na mensahe na naka-address sa isang tao o organisasyon

🇲🇾Malay

surat

mesej bertulis yang ditujukan kepada seseorang atau organisasi

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

خطاب

رسالة مكتوبة موجهة إلى شخص أو منظمة

🇮🇷Persian

نامه

یک پیام مکتوب خطاب به یک شخص یا سازمان

🇹🇷Turkish

mektup

bir kişiye veya kuruluşa gönderilen yazılı mesaj

🇮🇱Hebrew

מִכְתָב

הודעה בכתב המופנית לאדם או לארגון

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'letter'?

The primary meaning of 'letter' is 'a written message addressed to a person or organization'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'letter' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'letter' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'letter' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'letter' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'letter' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'letter' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'letter' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'letter' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'letter' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'letter' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted