letter opener
11
2.1
- noun
- /ˈlɛtər ˈoʊpənər/
:
abrecartas
- and an antique silver-plated letter opener with a thick leather handle.
- letter opener on the desk
- silver letter opener
- picked up a letter opener
Examples
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"With an exaggerated sigh, she settled at her desk and reached for a letter opener.
Fiction book (1992) -
Besides the coat, he got keys and a letter opener.
Fiction book (2000) -
Did you see the letter opener?
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More of a letter opener, really.
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It's a letter opener I made for when you go away to college.
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Get the letter opener on the desk!
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Why do you wanna see this antique letter opener?
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Collin, looking around the table, sees that the letter opener is gone.
Fiction book (1997) -
There is a letter opener on the desk, and several paper bands for wrapping currency.
Fiction book (1997) -
She used a letter opener to quickly slice through the pile of unopened envelopes.
Synonyms
1
4.4
A small sharp knife for opening envelopes or cutting closed book pages
A thin dull knife used to open envelopes or cut pages in a new book
How Dangerous
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun–noun compound is directly compositional: 'letter' (a mailed message/envelope) + 'opener' (a tool that opens) yields a tool for opening letters or envelopes. This follows regular English compounding patterns and is cross‑linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer the meaning.
Etymology
The noun letter opener comes from a very simple idea: a small, thin tool you slide under the flap of a sealed letter to open it, so it is literally an opener for letters. That's why the term means 'a small tool for opening envelopes'.