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Synonyms

write

American

[rahyt] / raɪt /

verb (used with object)

to trace or form (characters, letters, words, etc.) on the surface of some material, as with a pen, pencil, or other instrument or means; inscribe.

Write your name on the board.
to express or communicate in writing; give a written account of.

She wrote to thank us for the hospitality.
to fill in the blank spaces of (a printed form) with writing.

to write a check.
to execute or produce by setting down words, figures, etc..

to write two copies of a letter.
to compose and produce in words or characters duly set down.

to write a letter to a friend.
to produce as author or composer.

to write a sonnet;
to write a symphony.

Synonyms:

create, draft, author, pen, compose
to trace significant characters on, or mark or cover with writing.
to cause to be apparent or unmistakable.

Honesty is written on his face.
Computers. to transfer (information, data, programs, etc.) from storage to secondary storage or an output medium.
Stock Exchange. to sell (options).
to underwrite.

verb (used without object)

to trace or form characters, words, etc., with a pen, pencil, or other instrument or means, or as a pen or the like does.

He writes with a pen.
to write as a profession or occupation.

She writes for the Daily Inquirer.
to express ideas in writing.

He wrote about his trip to Borneo.
to write a letter or letters, or communicate by letter.

Write if you get work.
to compose or work as a writer or author.
Computers. to transfer into a secondary storage device or output medium.

verb phrase

write up
1. to put into writing, especially in full detail.
  
  My boss asked me to write up a report for the meeting on Monday, so I cancelled my plans and worked on it all weekend.
2. to present to public notice in a written description or account.
3. to document a violation, complaint, or charge against, especially in a recommendation for disciplinary action.
  
  Is it true that you were written up by your French teacher because you set a classroom dictionary on fire?
4. Accounting. to make an excessive valuation of (an asset).
write off
1. to cancel an entry in an account, as an unpaid and uncollectable debt.
2. to regard as worthless, lost, obsolete, etc.; decide to forget.
  
  to write off their bad experience.
3. to amortize.
  
  The new equipment was written off in three years.
write down
1. to set down in writing; record; note.
2. to direct one's writing to a less intelligent reader or audience.
  
  He writes down to the public.
write in
1. to vote for (a candidate not listed on the ballot) by writing a full name rather than selecting an option on the ballot.
2. to include in or add to a text by writing.
  
  Do not write in corrections on the galley.
3. to request something by mail.
  
  If interested, please write in for details.
write out
1. to put into writing.
2. to write in full form; state completely.
3. to exhaust the capacity or resources of by excessive writing.
  
  He's just another author who has written himself out.

write British

/ raɪt /

verb

to draw or mark (symbols, words, etc) on a surface, usually paper, with a pen, pencil, or other instrument
to describe or record (ideas, experiences, etc) in writing
to compose (a letter) to or correspond regularly with (a person, organization, etc)
(tr; may take a clause as object) to say or communicate by letter

he wrote that he was on his way
informal (tr) to send a letter to (a person, etc)
to write (words) in cursive as opposed to printed style
(tr) to be sufficiently familiar with (a specified style, language, etc) to use it in writing
to be the author or composer of (books, music, etc)
(tr) to fill in the details for (a document, form, etc)
(tr) to draw up or draft
(tr) to produce by writing

he wrote ten pages
(tr) to show clearly

envy was written all over his face
(tr) to spell, inscribe, or entitle
(tr) to ordain or prophesy

it is written
(tr) to sit (an examination)
(intr) to produce writing as specified
computing to record (data) in a location in a storage device Compare read 1
(tr) Compare underwrite

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

write Idioms

More idioms and phrases containing write

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of write

First recorded before 900; Middle English writen, Old English wrītan; cognate with Old Saxon wrītan “to cut, write,” German reissen “to tear, draw,” Old Norse rīta “to score, write”

Explanation

To write is to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. If you have trouble falling asleep, write down all the thoughts swimming around your head before getting into bed as a way to clear your mind. Write is the modern day spelling of the Old English writan, meaning “to score, outline, draw the figure of.” Now it has the sense of “to set down in writing.” You can write music, a short story, or computer code. You can write a letter, or write in cursive. You can write up an account of a burglary, or write down your feelings in a journal. Write on!

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Vocabulary lists containing write

TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)

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Common Core Grades 7–8, List 5

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Common Core Grades 9–10, List 5

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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:

write writes writ wrote written writing

Encouragement from his longtime confidante and collaborator helped the comedian write about the loss of his beloved home before Reiner’s tragic killing in December 2025 alongside his wife, Michele, in Brentwood.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

"These patterns suggest that while similar risk factors across ages are likely, some cancers may have age-specific exposures, susceptibilities, or differences in screening and detection practices," write the researchers.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026

The publisher of Haitian-Canadian writer Thelyson Orelien said on Wednesday it would keep his novel "It was Either That or Die" in bookstores, after the author denied he had used AI to write the book.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

“We think investors are in the process of rediscovering the toy industry’s stability, recession-resistance, and strong free cash flow generation,” the analysts write.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

It’s well-known that Joey loves to write, and the gift is a symbol of gratitude for all her work during the war.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

The Dodgers showed signs of life during Game 3 of the NLCS, but Bill Plaschke writes the reigning champs can’t survive their crushing collapse.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

“For every object we find, millions of others remain missing,” Sam Kean writes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

Vaughn even writes obituaries for people who have died to make extra money.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

BP’s total liabilities are seen at $34 billion at the end of 2026 and around $16 billion at end the end 2027, she writes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

Standing before this portrait, he writes, you feel like “a schoolboy before a duchess.”

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day

The VC industry writ large has made a huge push into companies contributing to the physical build-out of AI, as it becomes increasingly clear that sustaining AI’s fast growth will require significantly more infrastructure.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

Byrd and Roberts can still ask the First District Court of Appeal to review the denial of their Stand Your Ground motion before trial, through a petition for a writ of prohibition.

From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026

The government injected billions into banks, insurance giant AIG and the automobile industry to prevent the collapse of individual companies that would have jeopardized the economy and the financial system writ large if they failed.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

It represents a leap in the evolution of Saar’s work — her smaller scale imaginings now writ large.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

Upon the wall, writ large, was a chart labeled “Mammalia — or, Beasts that Give Suck.”

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson

“More gut-check moments will come as yields and headlines ebb and flow through year end,” Ives wrote in a note.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026

I wrote in this newspaper two years ago that America was still the economic envy of the world and standing at the edge of a boom.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

"Removing Starshield's speed limit entirely is now critical for Ukraine's defense," he wrote on X, thanking Elon Musk and asking for his "continued support".

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

“Based on the totality of the evidence in the case, including the body worn camera video, we determined that pursuing the probation violation was the most appropriate sanction,” she wrote.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026

Instead, he “sent her $75 …” Leah took his money but never wrote a word of thanks.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

The findings also demonstrate why scientists must draw on several independent methods when reconstructing population histories, particularly when written records are incomplete, unreliable, or shaped by historical biases.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026

Bleached corals had been largely written off because of their high mortality rate, said Collins -- though the new work instead demonstrates they "really shouldn't be thought of as a lost cause."

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

“The way they’ve written the language, they can’t provide 100% assurance.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026

McKellen said: "A new Simon Stephens play is always an excitement but when it is written to be performed in this unique way, it feels more like an explosion."

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

Suspicion and scorn were written all over her face.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

I think writing the book kind of showed me that I can actually finish something.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026

Davis, prosecutor Marc DiGiacomo argued Tuesday, profited off the rapper’s death in writing his memoir and “deserved the maximum possible sentence.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

"I have friends who are game developers that use AI to aid them with writing code," says the 23-year-old, who doesn't work for Epic.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

Reports have painted a picture of a decidedly low-key existence for the actor on the island, with Carrey spending his time reading, writing, walking, painting, and sketching.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026

It was buried under the stack of school stuff I moved out of the way when I was in the zone writing the other night.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023