ghostwrite
Americanverb (used with or without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ghostwrite
First recorded in 1925–30; back formation from ghostwriter
Explanation
To ghostwrite something is to pen a book, speech, play, or any other work that will be published under someone else's name. A pop star might pay someone to ghostwrite his memoirs. When a screenwriter can't figure out the perfect ending for the movie she's working on, she might hire someone to ghostwrite the screenplay. The original screenwriter will get her name in the credits, while the ghostwriter will get a paycheck. Sometimes people who aren't skilled writers will employ an expert to ghostwrite something for them — like a celebrity who wants to see their name on the cover of a book but doesn't have time to do the actual writing.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
I was fine letting Gemini ghostwrite emails about insurance claims and refunds, but it didn’t feel right for messages to loved ones, even if the initial draft did sound like me.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 18, 2026
Olivia Dumont is up to her ears in debt when she gets an offer to ghostwrite a memoir for uber-popular horror writer Vincent Taylor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2025
"I'm sure everybody aspires to be him. He's such a brilliant writer. It's very hard to ghostwrite a book and at some level never have it sound like it was written by somebody else."
From BBC ● Jan. 9, 2023
If you could ghostwrite someone else’s life story, whose would it be?
From New York Times ● Feb. 6, 2018
He says Kaufman asked him to ghostwrite a Son-Rise manual.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2017
Sometimes the ghostwriting is too obvious, as when a piece carries the byline of a sympathetic plaintiff in a public-interest lawsuit but is written in the bloodless style of an appellate brief.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
While the official contract cannot explicitly mention the practice of ghostwriting, rewriting, or in-line editing, it can acknowledge revision, commentary, and any form of feedback.
From Slate ● Mar. 20, 2026
Mr. Rees is president of the ghostwriting firm Geonomica and a senior fellow at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 16, 2026
Zehme, who wrote for Rolling Stone and other major magazines, had authored books on Frank Sinatra and Andy Kaufman in addition to ghostwriting memoirs for Regis Philbin and Leno.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2024
Besides writing for virtually every mass market publication in America, she spent five years ghostwriting the Cholly Knickerbocker society column in the old Journal American.
From 100 New Yorkers of the 1970s by Max Millard
I wrote back: “I am extremely put off by the fakery of this whole exercise, and I question the ethics of a professor’s allowing his name to be put on a ghostwritten piece.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
He had recently authored a bestselling book, The Art of the Deal, and, though it was entirely ghostwritten and largely embellished, he figured that should give him street cred in the highest realms of deal-making.
From Slate ● Jun. 23, 2023
First released in January 2023, "Spare" was ghostwritten with J. R. Moehringer and published by Penguin Random House.
From Salon ● Feb. 28, 2023
Piers Morgan derisively compared the “Spare” cover to that of Andre Agassi’s 2009 book, “Open,” also ghostwritten by J.R.
From New York Times ● Jan. 9, 2023
Alan Gould of the Associated Press promptly hired her to cover the Berlin Olympics as a reporter, though in fact her pieces would be ghostwritten.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
After Nixon returned to San Clemente, Khachigian helped him write his autobiography — basically ghostwrote it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 8, 2024
He didn't disclose which artists he ghostwrote for in the video.
From Salon ● Feb. 8, 2024
It is not his first foray into the world of celebrity memories - he ghostwrote Andre Agassi's memoir, Open, and collaborated with Nike co-founder Phil Knight for his autobiography, Shoe Dog.
From BBC ● Jan. 9, 2023
He told us how for years he ghostwrote a “Most Unforgettable Character I Ever Met” feature for Reader’s Digest.
From New York Times ● Dec. 17, 2021
With Maggie’s input, Ellet ghostwrote a book about Maggie and Elisha’s relationship.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
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