handwriting

American  

[hand-rahy-ting] / ˈhændˌraɪ tɪŋ /

noun

1. writing done with a pen or pencil in the hand; script.

2. a style or manner of writing by hand, especially that which characterizes a particular person; penmanship.

   an eccentric handwriting.

3. a handwritten document; manuscript.

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idioms

1. handwriting on the wall, a premonition, portent, or clear indication, especially of failure or disaster: Also writing on the wall.

   The company had ignored the handwriting on the wall and was plunged into bankruptcy.

handwriting British  

/ ˈhændˌraɪtɪŋ /

noun

1. writing by hand rather than by typing or printing

2. a person's characteristic writing style

   that signature is in my handwriting

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Etymology

Origin of handwriting

1375–1425; late Middle English hand writyng; hand + writing

Explanation

The process of writing something with a pen or pencil is handwriting. And you can call the way you write your handwriting too. By the time you finish the handwriting of a hundred Christmas cards, your handwriting will probably be illegible. When you're taking notes or working on your novel, your process can involve typing, dictating, or handwriting — scrawling on a piece of paper with a pen. Your typical style of scrawl is also called your handwriting — it's the script in which you write. Doctors are kind of famous for having terrible handwriting, while elementary school teachers tend to have very tidy, legible handwriting.

Example Sentences

A guidebook to the Coast to Coast was published by him in the early 1970s in his own handwriting and sketches.

From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026

But the inept followers aside — and many of them are falling to the side — there are those who see the handwriting on the wall.

From Salon • Feb. 27, 2026

At the time she didn’t know what was causing pain in her right leg and the intense itching on her arms, legs and torso — or why her handwriting had “gone funky.”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 24, 2026

The Scandinavian country launched a national "digitalisation" strategy for nursery, primary and middle schools in 2017 that saw tablets and laptops replace many textbooks and handwriting.

From Barron's • Jan. 28, 2026

Inside, I found a cream-colored envelope—thick paper, crisp and very formal—but the handwriting was crabbed and childish as a fifth-grader’s, in pencil.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

Related Words

• calligraphy
• longhand
• manuscript
• scrawl
• script
• writing