Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

writing

American  
[rahy-ting] / ˈraɪ tɪŋ /

noun

  1. the act of a person or thing that writes.

  2. written written form.

    to commit one's thoughts to writing.

  3. that which is written; written; characters or matter written written with a pen or the like.

    His writing is illegible.

  4. such characters or matter with respect to style, kind, quality, etc.

  5. an inscription.

  6. a letter.

  7. any written written or printed paper, as a document or deed.

  8. literary or musical style, form, quality, technique, etc..

    Her writing is stilted.

  9. a literary composition or production.

  10. the profession of a writer.

    He turned to writing at an early age.

  11. the Writings, Hagiographa.

idioms

  1. writing on the wall. handwriting.

writing British  
/ ˈraɪtɪŋ /

noun

  1. a group of letters or symbols written or marked on a surface as a means of communicating ideas by making each symbol stand for an idea, concept, or thing, by using each symbol to represent a set of sounds grouped into syllables ( syllabic writing ), or by regarding each symbol as corresponding roughly or exactly to each of the sounds in the language ( alphabetic writing ) See also ideogram

  2. short for handwriting

  3. anything expressed in letters, esp a literary composition

  4. the work of a writer

  5. literary style, art, or practice

  6. written form

    give it to me in writing

  7. (modifier) related to or used in writing

    writing ink

  8. a sign or signs of approaching disaster

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • self-writing adjective
  • unwriting adjective

Etymology

Origin of writing

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English; write + -ing 1

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.

It wasn’t until his mid-40s that he found his line writing crime novels.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026

We also have to deal with writing a policy for A.I. agents adapted to the reality of agents today.

From Slate • Apr. 1, 2026

Researchers value the decades of writing by former Mao personal secretary Li Rui for providing a rare insider’s view of relationships and discussions at the top levels of the Chinese Communist Party.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

"That resulted in us writing to the chief executive and echoing those concerns and inviting them to reflect on the club's values."

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

We hope you’ll continue to work on your craft, and we invite you to apply again next year with a new writing sample.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

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.