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 addition to demonstrations and online campaigns, the coalition helped organize an open letter of industry professionals opposing the transaction, including JJ Abrams, Damon Lindelof, David Fincher and Denis Villeneuve. — Ted Johnson, Deadline, 21 Sep. 2026

The Council on American-Islamic Relations in Philadelphia sent an open letter to the Philadelphia Eagles, the stadium operator and the city asking who made the decision to remove Macklemore from the show at the Linc. — CBS News, 20 Sep. 2026

More than 250 signatories to a nationwide open letter that included professors at Harvard and Stanford also called for a retraction. — Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026

Mansour encouraged other tribal groups to follow Tunica-Biloxi’s lead in an open letter published Friday. — Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 18 Sep. 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