form letter A letter that is to be sent to a number of different destinations with only minor differences in each copy, such as the date, address, salutation, and perhaps items in the body of the letter. The letter is stored as a word-processor document. Each of the points where variable information occurs is marked by a place holder, and before printing the place holders are replaced by the specific information. If a number of letters are to be produced at once, then the variable information can be stored as a list of names, addresses, and other information. If only one letter at a time is produced, then the place holders can be replaced directly from the keyboard. See also mailmerge.

form let·ter • n. a standardized letter to deal with frequently occurring matters.