write-in

[ rahyt-in ]
See synonyms for write-in on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a candidate or vote for a candidate not listed on the printed ballot but written onto it by the voter: Write-ins may swing the election.

adjective
  1. of, relating to, or for such a candidate or vote or a ballot so marked: a write-in campaign.

Origin of write-in

1
First recorded in 1930–35

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use write-in in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for write in

write in

verb(tr)
  1. to insert in (a document, form, etc) in writing

  2. (adverb) to write a letter to a company, institution, etc

  1. (adverb) US

    • 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

nounwrite-in US
  1. the act of voting for a person by writing his name on a ballot

  2. a candidate or vote that has been written in

  1. (as modifier): a write-in campaign

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 Idioms and Phrases with write-in

write-in

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]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.