Meanings
- idiomaticnot comparableLiterally, exactly, following the rules as written.
You should follow what your boss said to the letter. Otherwise, you'll lose your job.
1 more example
Capello warned his players that caution was not an option as they went in search of the result that would take England to Euro 2012. And his message was carried out to the letter in the opening exchanges as England played with a tempo and threat Montenegro struggled to subdue.
2011, Phil McNulty, “Euro 2012: Montenegro 2-2 England”, in BBC News
Synonyms & antonyms
adverbin every detail
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Catalan a la lletra, al peu de la lletra
- a la lletraidiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written
- al peu de la lletraidiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written
Chinese Mandarin 按字面意思, 逐字地
- 按字面意思 (àn zìmiàn yìsi)idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written
- 逐字地 (zhúzì de)idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written
- 照規則字面 /照规则字面 (zhào guīzé zìmiàn)idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written
Finnish kirjaimellisesti
- kirjaimellisestiidiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written
French à la lettre, au pied de la lettre
- à la lettreidiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written
- au pied de la lettreidiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written
- à la virgule prèsidiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written
German bis ins Kleinste
- bis ins Kleinsteidiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written
Greek κατά γράμμα
- κατά γράμμα (katá grámma)idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written
Italian alla lettera
- alla letteraidiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written
Japanese 細大を漏らさず
- 細大を漏らさず (saidai o morasazu)idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written
Korean 글자 그대로
- 글자 그대로 (geulja geudaero)idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written
Norwegian til punkt og prikke
- til punkt og prikkeidiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written
Polish dosłownie, co do joty
- dosłownieidiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written
- co do jotyidiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written
Portuguese ao pé da letra, à letra
- ao pé da letraidiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written
- à letraidiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written
- à riscaidiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written
Spanish a la letra, al pie de la letra
- a la letraidiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written
- al pie de la letraidiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written
- a pies juntillasidiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written
- al dedilloidiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written
- a rajatablaidiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written
- a la leyidiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written
- como el agüitaidiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written
- ad pédem lítteraeidiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written
Swedish till punkt och pricka
- till punkt och prickaidiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written
Turkish harfiyen, harfi harfine
- harfiyenidiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written
- harfi harfineidiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written
Cite this entry
to the letter. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/to%20the%20letter
“to the letter.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/to%20the%20letter. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “to the letter,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/to%20the%20letter.
Source: to the letter on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.