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

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

“One of the biggest challenges to the internet writ large right now is trust, and for us that really boils down to combating bots and fake accounts,” said Roth.

From The Wall Street Journal

Traditional incarceration, a lock-’em-up and watch-them-suffer approach, has dramatically failed not only our communities and public safety writ large, but also inmates and even those who guard them.

From Los Angeles Times

There’s plenty of folks who I’ve heard from personally, who are concerned, not just for themselves, but for their neighbors, for their friends and for the system writ large.

From Salon

Related Words

• summons