pen pal

noun

1. a person with whom one keeps up an exchange of letters, usually someone so far away that a personal meeting is unlikely:

   My niece in Texas has a pen pal in France.

pen pal

noun

1. a person with whom one regularly exchanges letters, often a person in another country whom one has not met Also calledpen friend

Word History and Origins

Origin of pen pal¹

An Americanism dating back to 1935–40

Example Sentences

In a preprint posted recently to bioRxiv, Li and his team identify three of the brain’s pen pals in the insects.

From Science Magazine

Sullivan said Peck showed him letters and photos that he exchanged with pen pal Gacy.

From Los Angeles Times

Because of this, people appeared to overlook some glaring red flags, like how Peck boasted about having been pen pals with convicted serial killer and sex offender John Wayne Gacy.

From Los Angeles Times

The two had only met once before the pandemic, but became literary pen pals and cheerleaders for one another.

From New York Times

She became long-distance pen pals with some of Latin music’s biggest and brightest stars, swapping tracks with them via emails and DMs in lieu of faraway studios.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• letter writer