open letter

noun

: 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

In recent weeks, Anthropic and OpenAI have written open letters to Newsom urging stronger safety requirements. — Jenny Jarvie follow, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2026

Over 200 Substack writers wrote an open letter opposing the company’s hands-off approach to content moderation, and several high-profile writers and publications migrated to competitors. — Dan Adler, Vanity Fair, 2 Nov. 2026

As per Artnet News, the Comité Professionnel des Galeries d’Art (CPGA), an industry group representing over a quarter of the exhibitors, wrote an open letter on October 28 with their demands addressed to Karim Crippa, director of Art Basel Paris. — News Desk, Artforum, 2 Nov. 2026

This came just days after school president Richard McCullough penned an open letter to supporters pleading with them to show up for the student-athletes over the remainder of the 2026 season. — Trey Wallace Outkick, FOXNews.com, 1 Nov. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1898, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for open letter

• carburetter
• carburettor
• abettor
• newsletter
• typesetter
• better
• bettor
• debtor
• fetter
• getter
• netter
• petter

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