V/R meaning: very respectfully
V/R means very respectfully. It's the short sign-off US military email uses for someone senior to you. Without the slash, VR means virtual reality.
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The email from the base contracting office ended V/R, then a rank and a surname.
What did they mean?
Filed under U to Z jargon.
Very respectfully, in three characters
What V/R stands for
V/R stands for very respectfully, shortened for email replies. The short form saves fourteen keystrokes.
R/ is respectfully, minus the very. Either one goes on the line above your name, where a civilian email would have regards or sincerely.
Who writes V/R and who writes R/
Rank decides which one you use. The Navy’s correspondence manual says V/R goes to someone senior and R/ to someone junior, and only in a reply.
| Writing to | Sign-off |
|---|---|
| Someone senior to you | Very respectfully, then V/R in replies |
| Someone junior to you | Respectfully, then R/ in replies |
| A civilian | Sincerely yours, or With great respect, with no short form |
V/R in the rest of the manual
Mailbox rules beside the sign-off
The chapter that sets out V/R also has rules for your mailbox.
- Check your mailbox at least twice a day.
- If you’re away for more than three business days, say so in the automatic reply and name a point of contact.
- Informal email gets no rules beyond brevity, good taste and the traditional courtesies.
Formal email, with a serial number
Formal email in the Navy has the same parts as a paper letter: a filing code, a serial number, a date and the name of whoever holds signing authority. A formal reply can end with V/r. Under it comes /s/ where the signature would go, then a name in capitals and the words “By direction”.
“By direction” means the writer is signing for the head of the command, with that authority given to them in writing.
Closings for every occasion
For personal letters sent from Navy headquarters, the manual picks the closing by who the reader is and what the letter is for.
| Letter | Closing |
|---|---|
| To flag officers senior to the signer | Very respectfully |
| Personal letters to senators, members of Congress and governors | Sincerely yours, or with great respect |
| Condolences, birth announcements and thank-you notes | Warm regards |
| To everyone without a category | Sincerely, or all the best |
V/R outside the military
V/R in a civilian inbox
V/R turns up in civilian email because people who picked it up around the military keep the habit. There it reads as a salute at the bottom of a note about printer toner.
If you want the same polite tone without the rank, sign off with best regards.
V/R, VR and v/r
Drop the slash and VR is virtual reality. A search for the two letters brings up headsets before any email. Lowercase v/r and V/r are the same sign-off, and the manual itself writes V/r.
V/R, decoded
Respect, measured by rank
Most email sign-offs in our jargon dictionary show how warm the writer feels. V/R shows rank instead, because it goes to someone who outranks you. Write R/ to someone senior and you’ve demoted them by one letter.
Peers have it hardest, since the manual has a closing for senior and one for junior and nothing in between.
V/R on a reply-all
On a long thread with mixed ranks, each reply ends in V/R or R/, depending on who it’s written to. The closing lines read like a seating plan.
A reply signed V/R
Subject: RE: Training room, 14 November
Ma’am, the training room is booked from 0800 to 1600 and the projector has been tested. Lunch counts are due by Wednesday at 1200.
V/RWith respect, upward, Sgt. M. Alvarez
V/R in a sentence
The email from the base contracting office ended V/R, then a rank and a surname.
After two years as a defense contractor, Kai still signs off V/R in emails to his dentist.
Tunde was told to sign emails to senior officers V/R and emails to juniors with Respectfully.
Our new client signs every email V/R, Lior. Keep replies short and put the answer first.
Questions about V/R
What is V/R in the military?
It's short for very respectfully, the sign-off for someone senior in rank. The Navy's correspondence manual lets you use the short form when you reply. A reply to someone junior in rank ends with R/, for respectfully.
What does VR stand for?
Usually virtual reality, as in headsets and computer-made worlds. Written with a slash at the bottom of an email, V/R stands for very respectfully.
What does V/R at the end of an email mean?
Very respectfully. The writer is signing off to a reader they treat as senior, usually out of a habit picked up in the military. Answer with your own usual sign-off.
What does R/ mean at the end of an email?
Respectfully. In military email it's how you close a reply to someone junior in rank. Someone senior gets V/R.