From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishthe letter of the lawthe letter of the lawEXACTthe exact words of a law or agreement rather than the intended or general meaning employees who stick to the letter of the law in their contracts → the spirit of the law at spirit1(11) → letter
Examples from the Corpus
the letter of the law• The heart of all this is going beyond the letter of the law with your clients.• Some one who did not feel obliged to follow the letter of the law, or the instructions of the judge.• The agent counsels them obliquely against waste, repeats the letter of the law, and smiles.• The builders may have adhered to the letter of the law, but not its spirit.• A month afterwards the teams will be sent out to discover whether retailers are sticking to the letter of the law.• By sticking to the letter of the law, the spirit of the law may be lost.• Sticking to the letter of the law v. sticking to its spirit. 