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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

to the letter en · ADV

Pronunciation

Meanings

  1. (idiomatic, not-comparable) Literally, exactly, following the rules as written.
    • 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:
    • You should follow what your boss said to the letter. Otherwise, you'll lose your job.

Coordinates

without fail

Relateds

literalism · by the numbers · by the book · letter of the law

Translations (37)

ko 글자 그대로 (idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written) · lb wuertwiertlech (idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written) · mnw အတိုၚ်လိက်ဂှ် (idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written) · tr harfiyen (idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written) · cmn 照規則字面 /照规则字面 (idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written) · ca a la lletra (idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written) · fi kirjaimellisesti (idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written) · es al dedillo (idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written) · tr harfi harfine (idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written) · el κατά γράμμα (idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written) · fr au pied de la lettre (idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written) · fr à la virgule près (idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written) · gl ao pé da letra (idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written) · es a rajatabla (idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written) · my တစ်သဝေမတိမ်း (idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written) · es a la ley (idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written) · chr ᏗᏟᎶᏍᏔᏅ (idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written) · cmn 按字面意思 (idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written) · ja 細大を漏らさず (idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written) · pl dosłownie (idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written) · cmn 逐字地 (idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written) · pt à risca (idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written) · no til punkt og prikke (idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written) · sv till punkt och pricka (idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written) · fr à la lettre (idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written) · pl co do joty (idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written) · es ad pédem lítterae (idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written) · es a la letra (idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written) · es a pies juntillas (idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written) · ca al peu de la lletra (idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written) · mnw အတိုၚ်အက္ခရ်ဂှ် (idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written) · it alla lettera (idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written) · pt à letra (idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written) · pt ao pé da letra (idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written) · es al pie de la letra (idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written) · de bis ins Kleinste (idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written) · es como el agüita (idiomatic for “literally”, following the rules as they're written)