open letter

noun

Synonyms of open letternext
: a published letter of protest or appeal usually addressed to an individual but intended for the general public

Examples of open letter in a Sentence

In an open letter to the company, a citizens' group implored company executives to reconsider their decision to close the factory.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Before last season, Aitken penned an open letter to the Angels, pleading for a better partnership, a name change, and more access to inspect the stadium. — Sam Blum, New York Times, 2 Sep. 2026 Michael Morris, publisher of the Atlanta Jewish Times, penned an open letter earlier this month blasting Ossoff for voting to block weapons sales to Israel again in July 2025 and April 2026. — Joseph Strauss, Sun Sentinel, 31 Aug. 2026 Having faced an open letter from artists showing in the pavilion, the Gwangju Biennale then retitled the presentation. — Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 31 Aug. 2026 More than 1,300 of the top staffers at the major tech companies have signed an open letter asking for the government to create tools to help slow the pace of AI development, with support from the CEOs of Anthropic and OpenAI. — Hadas Gold, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for open letter

Word History

First Known Use

1898, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of open letter was in 1898

Rhymes for open letter

See All Rhymes for open letter

Browse Nearby Words

open-label
open letter
open-letter proof
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Open letter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/open%20letter. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

open letter

noun
: a letter (as one addressed to an official) for the public to see and printed in a newspaper or magazine

More from Merriam-Webster on open letter

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for open letter

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of dissonant

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All