write-down

[rahyt-doun]

noun

Accounting.

1. a reduction of the entered value of an asset account.

2. the procedure of reducing the recorded value of an asset, either by estimate or as a plan.

write down

verb

1. (tr) to set down in writing

2. (tr) to harm or belittle by writing about (a person) in derogatory terms

3. (intr; foll by to or for) to write in a simplified way (to a supposedly less cultured readership)

4. (tr) accounting to decrease the book value of (an asset)

noun

1. accounting a reduction made in the book value of an asset

Word History and Origins

Origin of write down¹

First recorded in 1930–35; noun use of verb phrase write down

Idioms and Phrases

Set down in writing, record, as in Please write down your new address and phone number . [Late 1500s]

Reduce in rank, value, or price, as in They've written down their assets . [Late 1800s]

Write in a simple or condescending style, as in These science texts are written down for high-school students . [Second half of 1800s]

Example Sentences

The company took a $6-billion write-down on its cable television networks business, in yet another sign that Hollywood is reckoning with the ongoing deterioration of the traditional television business.

From Los Angeles Times

Last summer, the company took a $9 billion write-down to reflect the lower value of those basic cable channels.

From Los Angeles Times

In August, Paramount took a $6-billion write-down to account for the declining value of its cable television portfolio and so it entered the negotiations with Google with a weaker hand.

From Los Angeles Times

In August, Paramount took a $6-billion write-down to account for the declining value of its cable television portfolio.

From Los Angeles Times

Its film studio was in such a slump that Tokyo parent company Sony Corp. took a nearly $1 billion write-down just months before Vinciquerra was announced as the new chief executive and chairman.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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