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

As recently as July, a bipartisan group of 88 prominent economists and policy leaders addressed an open letter to Congress that called for major changes –highlighting the need to adopt more modern, technologically sophisticated approaches to data collection and analysis. —George Calhoun, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2025

His post came a day after Republican Sen. Tom Cotton sent an open letter to Intel’s board raising questions about Tan’s connections to semiconductor firms that are allegedly linked to the Chinese government and military. —semafor.com, 11 Aug. 2025

Later, when things have died down, a traumatized Henry puts his conflicted feelings into an open letter to the London Times. —Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 8 Aug. 2025

Thompson already praised the Finnish crew in an open letter to the industry following the shoot. —Marta Balaga, Variety, 8 Aug. 2025

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
• petar

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