write

American  

[rahyt] / raɪt /

verb (used with object)

writes, present (3rd person singular) wrote, past writ, past participle, past written, past participle writing present participle

1. 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.

2. to express or communicate in writing; give a written account of.

   She wrote to thank us for the hospitality.

3. to fill in the blank spaces of (a printed form) with writing.

   to write a check.

4. to execute or produce by setting down words, figures, etc..

   to write two copies of a letter.

5. to compose and produce in words or characters duly set down.

   to write a letter to a friend.

6. to produce as author or composer.

   to write a sonnet;

   to write a symphony.

   Synonyms:

   create, draft, author, pen, compose

7. to trace significant characters on, or mark or cover with writing.

8. to cause to be apparent or unmistakable.

   Honesty is written on his face.

9. Computers. to transfer (information, data, programs, etc.) from storage to secondary storage or an output medium.

10. Stock Exchange. to sell (options).

11. to underwrite.

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verb (used without object)

writes, present (3rd person singular) wrote, past writ, past participle, past written, past participle writing present participle

1. 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.

2. to write as a profession or occupation.

   She writes for the Daily Inquirer.

3. to express ideas in writing.

   He wrote about his trip to Borneo.

4. to write a letter or letters, or communicate by letter.

   Write if you get work.

5. to compose or work as a writer or author.

6. Computers. to transfer into a secondary storage device or output medium.

verb phrase

1. 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).

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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

1. to draw or mark (symbols, words, etc) on a surface, usually paper, with a pen, pencil, or other instrument

2. to describe or record (ideas, experiences, etc) in writing

3. to compose (a letter) to or correspond regularly with (a person, organization, etc)

4. (tr; may take a clause as object) to say or communicate by letter

   he wrote that he was on his way

5. informal (tr) to send a letter to (a person, etc)

6. to write (words) in cursive as opposed to printed style

7. (tr) to be sufficiently familiar with (a specified style, language, etc) to use it in writing

8. to be the author or composer of (books, music, etc)

9. (tr) to fill in the details for (a document, form, etc)

10. (tr) to draw up or draft

11. (tr) to produce by writing

    he wrote ten pages

12. (tr) to show clearly

    envy was written all over his face

13. (tr) to spell, inscribe, or entitle

14. (tr) to ordain or prophesy

    it is written

15. (tr) to sit (an examination)

16. (intr) to produce writing as specified

17. computing to record (data) in a location in a storage device Compare read 1

18. (tr) Compare underwrite

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write Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing write

• nothing to write home about
• wrote

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• miswrite
  verb (used with object)
• writable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• writing
  present
• writ
  past
• written
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• write
  simple
• writes
  simple
• have writ
  perfect
• have written
  perfect
• has writ
  perfect
• has written
  perfect
• am writing
  progressive
• are writing
  progressive
• is writing
  progressive
• have been writing
  perfect progressive
• has been writing
  perfect progressive

Past

• writ
  simple
• wrote
  simple
• had writ
  perfect
• had written
  perfect
• was writing
  progressive
• were writing
  progressive
• had been writing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will write
  simple
• will have writ
  perfect
• will have written
  perfect
• will be writing
  progressive
• will have been writing
  perfect progressive

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!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

write writes writ wrote written writing

"Notably, the impact can be comparable to frequent physical activity," they write.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026

A friend and I were so inspired we decided to write a screenplay for a short, but we soon realized funding was harder than we thought.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

SpaceX is nearly trading back at its initial-public-offering price as recent selling has taken a toll — but experts say not to write off the company just yet.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026

“But,” Woodward and Costa write, as if paraphrasing Graham’s thoughts, “there was no changing him. You just kept the conversation going.”

From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026

“I’d like you to get a notebook and write in it for at least ten minutes a day.”

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

Widdecombe "gave TV interview 20 minutes before she was killed", the i Paper writes.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

That's the case of Adam Smiley Poswolsky, who is now a 42-year-old public speaker and author who talks and writes about how to improve workplace cultures.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

University of Utah law professor Paul Cassell writes today at Reason:

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

"Machines cannot read our tacit knowledge and we cannot read theirs," he writes.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026

“Beware, La Gioconda is a dangerous picture,” writes the French historian Jules Michelet.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day

A Reform UK spokesman said: "Reform UK will move the writ tomorrow morning, and we are proposing a by-election on 6 August."

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

It’s also easy to imagine video game companies writ large choosing to slash budgets by removing their own disc drives as hardware becomes far more expensive to produce, thanks to the A.I.-induced memory-processor shortage.

From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026

As consumption of wine and spirits writ large has been in steady decline, sparkling wine has maintained, well, its sparkle—outperforming other categories with carbonated verve.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026

Across Havana, the ravages of time, lack of maintenance and overcrowding is writ large in the facades of one of the best preserved colonial cities in the Americas.

From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026

That name had alias writ all over it!

From "Bud, Not Buddy" by Christopher Paul Curtis

“POTUS is absolutely right,” he wrote on social media.

From Slate ● Jul. 15, 2026

"It is my hope that increased attention on his unjust detention will force the Chinese government to do the right thing and release Chen," he wrote in a statement published on Tuesday.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

“Positive supply/demand tension with customers is no bad thing either when it comes to future pricing and margins,” the analysts wrote in a note on Wednesday.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026

"The softer inflation data is likely to be welcomed by Federal Reserve officials, reducing the immediate pressure for further rate hikes," wrote Fiona Cincotta at City Index.

From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026

“If you wrote the codes anyway, are you sure you shouldn’t just be the operator for such an important call?”

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

The lawyer said the defendant had written an open letter to President Tinubu expressing those concerns.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

That reads a lot like a sentence that was written to appeal to Andy Burnham.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

Jeremy Stein and Karen Dynan, both Harvard professors, have written more favorably about the Fed’s large-balance-sheet policy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

In his written testimony, he noted there’s been “solid growth” in nominal wages, which are not adjusted for inflation.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026

He was still studying us like we had words written across our foreheads, and I found myself rubbing mine before I even realized I was doing it.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

Johnson’s writing is luminously beautiful, her assiduous research never impedes the narrative, and the illustrations are spectacular.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

"The skills I learned in that government job helped me as a writer, which then led to me writing a book, which led to my current career as a professional keynote speaker."

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

Zelensky said he was "deeply saddened" by Graham's death, writing on X: "Lindsey was a true defender of freedom and the values that make our world safer."

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

“He adds an amazing color and texture and he’s writing in different genres because the worlds are different. Our music and post production people also suggested some wonderful needle drop music.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026

But out loud, I tell him, “All good writing is personal.”

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

Related Words

• address
• compose
• create
• draft
• note
• pen
• print
• record
• rewrite
• scrawl
• scribble
• sign
• tell