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

Calls for independent review Monday’s open letter is just the latest shot fired at the beleaguered governing body. — Ben Church, CNN Money, 10 Aug. 2026

More than 580 Google employees, including senior DeepMind researchers, later signed an open letter urging Pichai to reconsider the deal, citing concerns around autonomous weapons and mass surveillance. — Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2026

The writer Larry Kramer branded him a murderer in an open letter published in 1988. — Michael Collins, USA Today, 7 Aug. 2026

After the executive order, a coalition of ibogaine practitioners had published an open letter warning of the risks of overharvesting the iboga plant and cutting out the Bwiti people of Gabon, who have used it ceremonially for generations. — Michelle Lhooq, New Yorker, 7 Aug. 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