write S1 W1 /raɪt/ BrE AmE verb ( past tense wrote /rəʊt $ roʊt/, past participle written /ˈrɪtn/)
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ writer , ↑ writing , ↑ rewrite ; verb : ↑ write , ↑ rewrite ; adjective : ↑ written ≠ ↑ unwritten ]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: writan 'to scratch, draw, write' ]
1 . BOOK/ARTICLE/POEM ETC
a) [intransitive and transitive] to produce a new book, article, poem etc:
He wrote some very famous books.
Who wrote ‘Harry Potter’?
I can’t come with you – I have an essay to write.
write about
O'Brien often writes about her native Ireland.
well/badly/poorly etc written
The article is very well written.
b) [intransitive] someone who writes earns money by writing books, plays, articles etc:
Sean decided he wanted to write, and quit his job.
write for
Maureen Dowd writes for ‘The New York Times’.
2 . LETTER [intransitive and transitive] to put words in a letter to someone
write to
I’ve written to my MP, and to the city council.
write somebody American English :
Chris hasn’t written me for a long time.
I wrote her several letters, but she didn’t reply.
3 . FORM WORDS [intransitive and transitive] to form letters or numbers with a pen or pencil:
Kerry could read and write when she was five.
4 . STATE SOMETHING [transitive] to state something in a book, letter, advertisement etc, or on a label
write (that)
Isabella wrote that she was dying, and asked him to visit her for the last time.
be written on something
The price is written on the label.
5 . MUSIC/SONG [transitive] to write a piece of music or a song:
Mozart wrote the music.
The song was originally written by Leonard Cohen.
6 . COMPUTER PROGRAM [transitive] to make a program for a computer to use:
He writes software programs for financial institutions.
7 . A COMPUTER RECORDS SOMETHING [intransitive and transitive] if a computer writes something, it records it on a disk or in its memory
write to/onto
data that had been written to disk
8 . CHEQUE/DOCUMENT ETC ( also write out ) [transitive] to write information on a cheque, form etc:
Wouldn’t it be easier if I just wrote a cheque for the lot?
The doctor wrote me a prescription for sleeping pills.
9 . PEN [intransitive] if a pen writes, it works properly:
Do any of these pens write?
10 . have something/be written all over your face to show very clearly what you are feeling or thinking:
He had guilt written all over his face.
I know you’re lying, Tyrell – it’s written all over your face.
11 . have something written all over it to show a particular quality or fact very clearly:
This awful film has ‘career-killer’ written all over it for the actors involved.
12 . nothing to write home about informal not particularly good or special:
The hotel was good, but the food was nothing to write home about.
13 . somebody wrote the book on something spoken used to say that someone knows a lot about a subject or is very good at an activity:
Motorola wrote the book on quality control.
14 . that’s all she wrote American English spoken used to mean that you cannot stop what happens next in a situation, especially when it is bad
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ write to use a pen or pencil to make words, letters etc:
Have you written a shopping list?
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The children are learning to read and write.
▪ write something down to write something on paper, in order to remember it or make a record:
He wrote down everything she said.
▪ put to write something in a particular place, or to write particular words:
I’ve put the dates of the meetings in my diary.
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At the end of the email she put ‘PS I love you’.
▪ put something in writing to write something that you have agreed or promised, so that there is an official record:
They said they would pay me 50%, but they haven’t actually put it in writing.
▪ make a note of something to write information that you might need later:
I’ll just make a note of your address.
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Make a note in your diary.
▪ take notes to write things while someone is speaking or while something is happening, so that you can use them later:
His lawyer was with him taking notes.
▪ scrawl /skrɔːl $ skrɒːl/ to write something carelessly and untidily, especially in big letters – often used to show disapproval:
Someone had scrawled graffiti on the school wall.
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He’d scrawled a few unhelpful comments at the bottom of my work.
▪ fill something in/out to write information on a form or other official document:
Please fill in the application form in black ink.
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Would you mind filling out a questionnaire?
▪ sign to write your name at the end of a letter, document etc:
Read the contract carefully, and then sign it.
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Don’t forget to sign your name.
■ to write something quickly
▪ jot something down to write something very quickly:
Start your essay by jotting down a few ideas.
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He checked the meter and jotted something down.
▪ scribble to write something quickly and in an untidy way:
Andy scribbled a quick note and handed it to the chairman.
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I’ve scribbled something here but I can’t read it now.
■ to write something on a computer
▪ enter to make words or numbers appear on a computer screen by pressing the keys:
You have to enter your password twice.
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The patients medical records are entered into a database.
▪ key something in/type something in to write or record information on a computer, especially something you are copying:
I’ve keyed in my credit card details.
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To visit our website, just type in our the address.
write away for something phrasal verb
to write a letter to a company or organization asking them to send you goods or information:
I’ve written away for their free catalog.
write back phrasal verb
to reply to a letter that someone sent you, by writing a letter to them:
I sent them a card once, but they never wrote back.
write back to
I wrote back to them immediately, thanking them for their kind invitation.
write something ↔ down phrasal verb
1 . to write something on a piece of paper:
This is the address. Do you want to write it down?
2 . to officially say that a debt no longer has to be paid, or officially accept that you cannot get back money you have spent or lost SYN write off
write in phrasal verb
1 . to write a letter to an organization to give an opinion, ask for information etc:
If you would like a copy of our fact sheet, please write in, enclosing a stamped addressed envelope.
write in to
And so I wrote in to Radio Brighton.
2 . write something ↔ in to write a piece of information in the space provided for it on a form or document:
Provide some space for students to write in their hobbies.
3 . write somebody ↔ in American English to add someone’s name to the official list on your voting form, to show that you want to vote for them:
The campaign to write in Johnson for governor failed.
⇨ ↑ write-in
write something into something phrasal verb
to add or include something in a contract, agreement etc:
It was written into his contract that he had to make two records a year.
write off phrasal verb
1 . to write a letter to a company or organization asking them to send you goods or information SYN send off , write away
write off for
Are you going to write off for that free poster?
2 . write somebody/something ↔ off to decide that someone or something is useless, unimportant, or a failure SYN dismiss
write somebody/something ↔ off as
After six months of work, we eventually wrote the project off as a non-starter.
⇨ ↑ write-off
3 . write something ↔ off to officially say that a debt no longer has to be paid, or officially accept that you cannot get back money you have spent or lost:
The United States agreed to write off debts worth billions of dollars.
The Inland Revenue wrote off £900 million in unpaid taxes.
4 . write something ↔ off to make an official record of the amount of money that you have spent on things relating to your business, in order to reduce the amount of tax that you have to pay
write something ↔ off against
The costs of setting up a business can be written off against tax.
5 . write something ↔ off British English to damage a vehicle so badly that it can never be used again:
At thirteen he stole a car and wrote it off.
⇨ ↑ write-off
write somebody/something ↔ out phrasal verb
1 . to write something on paper, especially in a neat and clear way, including all the necessary details:
The children were asked to choose their favourite poem and write it out in their best handwriting.
2 . to write information on a cheque or a form:
She calmly wrote out a check for $500 and handed it to Will.
3 . to remove a character from a regular radio or television programme, by making him or her leave or die in the story
write somebody/something ↔ out of
It was revealed last week that Alma is being written out of the series.
write something ↔ up phrasal verb
1 . to write a report, article etc using notes that you made earlier:
I have to write up my report before the meeting.
2 . to write something on a wall, board etc where people can see it:
The teacher repeated the word, and then wrote it up on the blackboard.
3 . be written up if something is written up in a newspaper, magazine etc, someone describes what it is like and gives their opinion of it:
We’re going to a Spanish restaurant that was written up in Time Out’s good food guide.
⇨ ↑ write-up