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• write-off
  write-off

  noun

  a cancellation from the accounts as a loss.
• write off
  write off

  verb

  accounting

write-off

American  

[rahyt-awf, -of] / ˈraɪtˌɔf, -ˌɒf /

noun

write-offs plural

1. a cancellation from the accounts as a loss.

2. an uncollectable account.

3. a reduction in book value; depreciation.

4. Informal. a person or thing that is given up as hopeless or pointless.

   Joe's college career is a write-off.

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write off British  

verb

1. accounting

   1. to cancel (a bad debt or obsolete asset) from the accounts

   2. to consider (a transaction, etc) as a loss or set off (a loss) against revenues

   3. to depreciate (an asset) by periodic charges

   4. to charge (a specified amount) against gross profits as depreciation of an asset

2. to cause or acknowledge the complete loss of

3. to send a written order for (something)

   she wrote off for a brochure

4. informal to damage (something, esp a car) beyond repair

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noun

1. accounting

   1. the act of cancelling a bad debt or obsolete asset from the accounts

   2. the bad debt or obsolete asset cancelled

   3. the amount cancelled against gross profits, corresponding to the book value of the bad debt or obsolete asset

2. informal something damaged beyond repair, esp a car

write off Idioms  

1. Reduce an asset's book value to zero because it is worthless, as in The truck was wrecked completely, so we can write it off . [Late 1600s]

2. Cancel from an account as a loss, as in Since they'll never be able to pay back what they owe, let's just write off that debt . [Late 1800s] Also see charge off , def. 2.

3. Regard as a failure or worthless, as in There was nothing to do but write off the first day of our trip because of the bad weather , or She resented their tendency to write her off as a mere housewife . [Late 1800s]

4. Amortize, as in We can write off the new computer network in two years or less . Also see charge off , def. 2.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• write-offs
  plural

Etymology

Origin of write-off

First recorded in 1745–55; noun use of verb phrase write off

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

write-off write off write-offs

Likewise, Andy’s story starts when a magnate shutters her current job at a newspaper called the New York Vanguard, firing her and her colleagues for a $500-million tax write-off.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 29, 2026

But Wiegman says England cannot write-off opponents Ukraine and Iceland.

From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2026

These come from impairment and write-off losses on assets that were intended to be used for the production of these vehicles, the firm added.

From Barron's ● Mar. 12, 2026

In other words, taxes weren’t easy for gamblers already — and now they are getting tougher, blocking even more losses from a write-off.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 6, 2026

“I’m sure this was just some big tax write-off to him.”

From "The Parker Inheritance" by Varian Johnson

Apollo chief economist Torsten Sløk flags this chart that shows how investors shouldn’t write off all software as vulnerable to AI disruption.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026

But net charge-offs, which are debts banks write off as losses, were down year-over-year for consumer debt at both Bank of America and Wells Fargo.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

When “Legally Blonde” first came out, I was ready to write off Elle Woods for similar reasons many first- and second-wave feminists dismissed Marilyn Monroe.

From Salon ● Jul. 6, 2026

GM has also been forced to write off billions in EV investments because U.S. demand for all-electric cars simply didn’t materialize as expected.

From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026

Also, she couldn’t forget how he had been ready to write off her brother, Nico, when they’d learned he was a captive in Rome.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

The organisation has drawn up a blueprint for manufacturers, with a list of recommendations to keep repairs as simple and affordable as possible and to avoid unnecessary write-offs.

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

Congress should make write-offs for investments in structures permanent, too.

From Barron's ● Apr. 17, 2026

Howell and his worker, then based in Palm Beach, Fla., had inflated their clients’ write-offs and fabricated expenses for years, prosecutors alleged in the indictment.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 27, 2026

The company also recorded $93 million in other noncash write-offs related to that project.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2025

Russia has spent the last two years negotiating generous package deals - rescheduling, write-offs, grace periods measured in years - with its most obtuse debtors.

From Russian Roulette: Russia's Economy in Putin's Era by Vaknin, Samuel

Related Words

• cancel
• give up
• lower