dear sir
Formal correspondence greeting
Dear sir is a formal salutation opening a letter or message addressed to a man whose name is unknown or when maintaining professional distance.
Once standard in business correspondence, it now sounds stiff or old-fashioned: Dear Sir, I am writing to inquire about the position.
The phrase dear sir or madam attempts gender neutrality.
In speech, my dear sir can express polite disagreement or mild indignation.
- respectfulShowing proper regard
- letterheadBranded formal stationery
- business letterFormal commercial written communication
- cover letterJob application preface
- salutationExpression of goodwill
formal address · opening line · courteous · greeting · mister · correspondence · civility · gentleman · propriety · good day · decorum · addressee · formal · kind regards · yours truly · best regards · manners · greetings and salutations
- letter elementsyours truly, sincerely, to whom it may concern, warm regards, best wishes
- greetingshi, hello, hey, hola, aloha
- polite phrasesplease, thank you, hello, sorry, I apologize
- stock phrasesstock phrase, set phrase, cliche, catchphrase, filler phrase
- beginning phrasesonce upon a time, in the beginning, first of all, to start with, to begin with
- correspondenceletters, letter, handwritten letters, family letters, missives