correspondence

noun

cor·​re·​spon·​dence ˌkȯr-ə-ˈspän-dən(t)s 

ˌkär-

1

a

: communication by letters or email

also : the letters or emails exchanged

I have a pile of correspondence on my desk.

b

: the news, information, or opinion contributed by a correspondent to a newspaper or periodical

2

a

: the agreement of things with one another

the correspondence between spelling and pronunciation

b

: a particular similarity

c

: a relation between sets in which each member of one set is associated with one or more members of the other compare function sense 5a

Synonyms of correspondence

• similarity
• resemblance

Examples of correspondence in a Sentence

They communicated by telephone and correspondence.

E-mail correspondence has become extremely important for modern businesses.

The two men began a correspondence that would continue throughout their lives.

A book of the author's personal correspondence was published early last year.

A formal tone is always used in business correspondence.

Note the correspondence of each number to a location on the map.

Sometimes there is little correspondence between the way a word is spelled and the way it is pronounced in English.

Sometimes there are few correspondences between spelling and pronunciation.

Recent Examples on the Web

Bridge obtained dozens of emails, reports and correspondence showing that officials knew that more than 160 homes could be acquired to build a megasite for at least two years before all impacted residents and neighbors were informed of the plans. —CBS News, 27 Mar. 2026

In a review of correspondence between the couple and financial documents found in the home, investigators were unable to find any proof that Heidi Firkus knew of the impending eviction. —ABC News, 27 Mar. 2026

Reuters was not able to immediately authenticate ‌the emails published by Hanadala, ‌but a sample of the material uploaded by the hackers and ⁠reviewed by Reuters appears to show a mix of personal and work correspondence dating between 2010 and 2019. —Sean Nevin, NBC news, 27 Mar. 2026

Her first official correspondence from the department came on March 10 via email. —Francesca Chambers, USA Today, 27 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

see correspond

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2a

Phrases Containing correspondence

• correspondence course
• correspondence school

Kids Definition

correspondence

noun

cor·​re·​spon·​dence ˌkȯr-ə-ˈspän-dən(t)s 

1

a

: agreement between certain things

b

: a point of similarity

c

: a relation between sets in which each member of one set is matched to one or more members of the other set

2

a

: communication by letters

b

: the letters exchanged