correspondence

Everyday

1. Correspondence is letters, emails or messages sent between people: "she reads her correspondence every morning". tree →
2. Correspondence is writing to each other over time: "we kept up a correspondence for years". tree →
3. A correspondence is a match or close link between two things: "a correspondence between the two lists". tree →

In the lessons

In formal and business language, correspondence means mail. In maths, a one-to-one correspondence pairs each item in one set with exactly one item in another — the idea behind counting and fair sharing. In history, letters between famous people are their correspondence. Phrases: in correspondence with, one-to-one correspondence, correspondence course, a pen-friend correspondence.

Examples

• Grandpa keeps all his correspondence in a box. tree →
• The two friends kept up a correspondence while one lived in Canada. tree →
• Match each child to one chair: that is one-to-one correspondence. tree →
• There is a close correspondence between the two maps. tree →
• The office deals with the head teacher's correspondence. tree →
• She did a correspondence course by post. tree →
• "It is an unheard-of thing," said Noureddin, "that a fisherman should be in correspondence with a king." tree →

Note

Spelling: -ence, double r. Verb: correspond (to write to someone; to match). Usually uncountable for letters: "a lot of correspondence", not "correspondences". Correspondent = a person who writes letters, or a reporter.

In Jewish tradition

In formal and business language, correspondence means mail. In maths, a one-to-one correspondence pairs each item in one set with exactly one item in another — the idea behind counting and fair sharing. In history, letters between famous people are their correspondence. Phrases: in correspondence with, one-to-one correspondence, correspondence course, a pen-friend correspondence.

Note

Spelling: -ence, double r. Verb: correspond (to write to someone; to match). Usually uncountable for letters: "a lot of correspondence", not "correspondences". Correspondent = a person who writes letters, or a reporter.