open letter

American

noun

a letter, often of protest or criticism, addressed to a specific person, but intended to be brought to public attention.

open letter British

noun

a letter, esp one of protest, addressed to a person but also made public, as through the press

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

open-letter adjective

Etymology

Origin of open letter

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In an open letter, he pointed to perks such as $2 hot meals for employees.

From The Wall Street Journal

In an open letter to Canadian officials, the company said the suspect was able to create a second account after the first was banned, slipping past its internal detection systems.

From BBC

The imprint was missing from a leaflet containing an open letter by a pensioner who had switched her support from Labour to Reform UK.

From BBC

"Our efforts have been met with no legislative partnership," Warren wrote in an open letter, in December.

From Barron's

He wrote an open letter to James Dolan in June 2025 arguing that a split of the two teams into independent companies would “unlock billions in value for shareholders.”

From Barron's

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023