write-in
noun
a candidate or vote for a candidate not listed on the printed ballot but written onto it by the voter.
write-in
American
[rahyt-in]
/ ˈraɪtˌɪn /
noun
-
write-ins
plural
adjective
write in
British
verb
-
to insert in (a document, form, etc) in writing
-
(adverb) to write a letter to a company, institution, etc
-
(adverb)
-
to vote for (a person not on a ballot) by writing in his name
-
to cast (a vote) for such a person by writing in his name
-
noun
-
the act of voting for a person by writing his name on a ballot
-
a candidate or vote that has been written in
-
( as modifier )
a write-in campaign
write in
Idioms
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Cast a vote by inserting a name not listed on the ballot, as in He asked them to write in his name as a candidate . [c. 1930]
-
Insert in a text or document, as in Please don't write in your corrections on the printed pages, but list them separately . [Late 1300s]
-
Communicate with an organization by mail, as in Listeners are being asked to write in their requests . [1920s]
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of write-in
First recorded in 1930–35
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:
East San Fernando Valley incumbent Kelly Gonez faces one challenger, Jose Sagredo, who, as a write-in candidate, will not even have his name on the ballot.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026
She decided to run anyway, as a write-in candidate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
Thanks to a well-orchestrated write-in campaign, Biden still received more than 63 percent of the vote, then he secured 96.2 percent in the party-sanctioned first contest in South Carolina.
From Slate ● May 26, 2026
Polling is taking place in three phases spread over a month, using new electronic voting machines which do not allow write-in candidates or spoiled ballots.
From Barron's ● Dec. 27, 2025
All these wannabes killing themselves, running around hanging the lamest posters and FB-ing everybody with Like me requests, and Castro wins without even being on the ballot, as a write-in.
From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin
“I had no intention of going to jail,” Flynn would write in his memoir.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
Madonna said Orbit inspired her to sing and write in ways she never had before, without caring if her words "made sense or not".
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
Promoter Eddie Hearn said there are "many, many more chapters to write" in Joshua's career, beginning with the long-awaited meeting with Fury, which is mooted to take place later this year.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
The pressure is on for software companies to shake up their business models in the face of artificial-intelligence, Truist analysts write in a note.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
In writing about his discoveries Galileo was not obliged to write in a way that others found puzzling or incomprehensible: it was what he said that caused consternation, not how he said it.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
But Zappala secured enough write-ins in the Republican primary to get that party’s nomination.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 23, 2023
She and running mate Michael Zagarell received slightly more than 1,000 votes, including write-ins.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 24, 2022
Brown declared victory and thanked his supporters after local media reported Walton had won 41% of the vote while 59% of the votes were write-ins.
From Reuters ● Nov. 3, 2021
The remaining 12% of the votes were write-ins.
From Salon ● Nov. 9, 2020
The other 1,547 votes were write-ins or illegible.
From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
