writ

¹ American  

[rit] / rɪt /

noun

1. Law.

   1. a formal order under seal, issued in the name of a sovereign, government, court, or other competent authority, enjoining the officer or other person to whom it is issued or addressed to do or refrain from some specified act.

   2. (in early English law) any formal document in letter form, under seal, and in the sovereign's name.

2. something written; a writing.

   sacred writ.

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writ ² American  

[rit] / rɪt /

verb

Archaic.

1. a simple past tense and past participle of write.

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writ ¹ British  

/ rɪt /

noun

1. Official name: claim.  law (formerly) a document under seal, issued in the name of the Crown or a court, commanding the person to whom it is addressed to do or refrain from doing some specified act

2. archaic a piece or body of writing

   Holy Writ

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writ ² British  

/ rɪt /

verb

1. archaic a past tense and past participle of write

2. plain to see; very obvious

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Etymology

Origin of writ

before 900; Middle English, Old English; cognate with Old Norse rit writing, Gothic writs letter. See write

Example Sentences

Pressley has introduced the Ending Administrative Wage Garnishment Act, which would “protect borrowers by ending garnishment as a tool writ large for student debt collection by the federal government, regardless of who’s in office.”

From Salon

"It's why I am calling on anyone with a platform to be very responsible with their rhetoric, not to identify or target the Jewish community. That is antisemitism writ large," she said.

From BBC

I have a lot of respect for people, those ultrawealthy individuals who commit themselves to supporting culture writ large, the museums and beyond—symphony, opera, theater.

From The Wall Street Journal

For the labor market writ large, moving from job to job allows workers to “trade up” to higher-paying employers and thus higher earnings.

From MarketWatch

At the core of the conflict is a novel question: who should ultimately control how cutting-edge AI tools are deployed in conflict and society writ large?

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• summons