write

American  

[rahyt] / raɪt /

verb (used with object)

• writes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• wrote,
  past
• writ,
  past participle,  past (Archaic)
• 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 (Archaic)
• 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

It helps me write and focus and relax and otherwise temper my mood throughout the day.

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026

We cannot write treat these moments as a write-off, because they’re not.

From Slate ● Oct. 3, 2026

She would attend meetings “to read scripts, write notes, and dispense mineral water.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

What Goldie suggests instead is to write down a set of intentions in your retirement policy.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026

“I can write it tomorrow. It’s not a big deal.”

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

The i writes that the project "would link new radar, command systems and interceptor missiles" into a single network.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

Roman writes that the vinegar makes the soup taste “almost like a pickle.”

From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026

Bill Plaschke in the same issue writes of Chuck Essegian’s 1959 pinch-hit World Series homer without any indication it was in the stone age.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026

Telling the Ephesians about our relationship to God, St. Paul writes: “For we are his workmanship.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

“Being artistic, she writes in a beautiful script. So do we.”

From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck

“We always think about it as sort of two audiences—as folks in the room, but it’s also the internet writ large,” Doumet said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 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

Without jail, there could be no writ of habeas corpus.

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling

Harry said NHS England wrote to the CQC on 2 October and shared the findings with inspection teams.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

"A different approach is needed," Deming wrote in a recent email to students.

From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026

The movie began filming in London in June after a number of previous delays while Reeves and Mattson Tomlin wrote the script.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

“Run. Don’t walk away from this group,” one wrote.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

The efforts of Louisiana Congressman James Morrison, who wrote the 1951 bill in Joey’s favor, gain new life.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

That’s the kind of “between the systems” information that needs to be written down so it can be ingested by AI.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

On Thursday, it posted screenshots of the messages written on Facebook Messenger.

From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026

The year isn’t over, and a new chapter of the nest is already being written.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026

In the detailed written instructions given to the young women who worked without pay in the then-Reverend Chris Brain's house, there was a revealing demand.

From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026

Two ordering lines, each with a handmade sign, written on lined notebook paper.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

The composer spent most of his career writing alone, but he never entirely lost his love of performing.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore seemed to agree, writing recently that the eventual authorization of fresh buybacks could serve as a catalyst for the stock.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026

The secret to writing a TV theme tune.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

The film marks a departure for Gilroy, who cut his teeth writing action movies like the "Bourne" films and legal thrillers like "Michael Clayton."

From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026

Once she started writing, I’d have no chance of getting her attention.

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

Related Words

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