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What Does Re Mean In A Business Letter (All You Need To Know)

Wondering: What Does Re Mean In A Business Letter?

What does “Re” mean in a business letter?

What are the essential elements you should know!

Keep reading as we have gathered exactly the information that you need!

Let me explain to you what “Re” means in a letter once and for all!

Are you ready?

Let’s get started!

What Does Re Mean In A Business Letter

You just received a business letter and you see “Re” in the subject line…

What does Re mean?

Essential, “Re” is an English preposition meaning “in the matter of”.

Many believe that Re: is the abbreviation of the word “Regarding” or “Reference” but in fact, RE is not the abbreviation of these words.

RE comes from the Latin In Re which means “in the matter of”.

You may have seen lawyers use In Re in legal phrases, particularly when a lawsuit is not brought by a person but by an agency of some kind.

Since the 18th century, RE: has been used in letters to indicate “in the matter of” or “with reference to”.

In The Matter Of

When you see RE or RE: in a letter subject line, its an English preposition meaning “in the matter of”.

The RE in a letter is equivalent to the RE that you may see in an email subject line.

For example, if you are writing a resignation letter to your employer, you will write the letter subject line as follows:

Re: Mary Jane Notice of Resignation
Author

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Does RE Mean Regarding

Although many indicate that Re: in a business letter is an abbreviation for the word Regarding, this is a mistake.

Re is not an abbreviation of anything really.

Re comes from the Latin In Re, which means “in the matter of”.

Perhaps many believe that RE means “Regarding” as “Regarding” starts with the letters RE.

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Is It Re or Re:

Another common question that is asked is whether you should write Re or Re: in your business letter subject line.

Typically, the proper way of writing Re is with the colon (“Re:”).

If you don’t put the colon, people may think that it’s a typo or you’ve been sloppy.

Is It Re: or RE:

Another important aspect is knowing whether you should capitalize the RE in your letter subject line.

Both Re: and RE: are correct.

In the letter subject line, you can choose to write Re: or RE: as you prefer.

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Takeaways 

So there you have it folks!

What does RE mean in a letter?

Re: is probably one of the most commonly used term in business letters.

You’ll generally see Re: at the top of a business letter on the subject line steering the reader to a short and concise description of the subject of the letter.

For example:

Re: John Smith Employment Application 
Author

Re is an English preposition that is used in letters to mean “in the matter of” or “with reference to”.

Now that you know what RE means in a letter and why it’s written that way, good luck with your research!

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Author

Editorial Staff
Hello Nation! I'm a lawyer by trade and an entrepreneur by spirit. I specialize in law, business, marketing, and technology (and love it!). I'm an expert SEO and content marketer where I deeply enjoy writing content in highly competitive fields. On this blog, I share my experiences, knowledge, and provide you with golden nuggets of useful information. Enjoy!

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