Correspondence Vocabulary
Here are twenty words and terms often used in business correspondence.
1 | address | n. the place to which a letter is to be sent |
2 | Best regards | friendly close to a letter - Kind regards, Best wishes |
3 | Dear | first word of most SALUTATIONS, formal or not [eg: Dear Sir, Dear Mr Won, Dear Jo] |
4 | Dear Madam | formal SALUTATION to an unnamed woman |
5 | Dear Sir | formal SALUTATION to an unnamed man |
6 | Dear SirsUK | SALUTATION when writing to a firm and not to any particular individual in the firm |
7 | dictate | v. to say or read aloud words to be written down - dictation n. |
8 | enc. | abbr. enclosure; enclosed [indicating something that is included with a letter] |
9 | GentlemenUS | SALUTATION when writing to a firm and not to any particular individual in the firm |
10 | letterhead | n. a sheet of letter paper printed with a person or firm's (name and) address |
11 | Mr Ms Mrs Miss | abbr. of title for man, woman (married or not), married woman, unmarried woman |
12 | p.s. | abbr. postscript [used to indicate a note added at the very end of a letter] |
13 | per pro | abbr. through the agency of; p.p. [eg: A per pro B (where B is signing for A)] |
14 | registered mail | n. a secure postal service for important or valuable letters or packages |
15 | salutation | n. opening or first line of a letter, usually commencing with 'Dear...' |
16 | shorthand | n. a system of speed writing, esp. when taking dictation |
17 | sign | v. to write one's name at the end of a document - signature n. |
18 | Yours faithfullyUK | polite close to a letter not naming the recipient as in Dear Sir; Yours trulyUS |
19 | Yours sincerelyUK | polite close to a letter naming the recipient as in Dear Mr Smith; Yours trulyUS |
20 | Yours trulyUS | polite close to a letter; Sincerely yoursUS |