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.
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.
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.
–verb (used without object)
12.
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.
13.
to write as a profession or occupation: She writes for the Daily Inquirer.
14.
to express ideas in writing.
15.
to write a letter or letters, or communicate by letter: Write if you get work.
16.
to compose or work as a writer or author.
17.
Computers. to write into a secondary storage device or output medium.
—Verb phrases
18.
write down,
a.
to set down in writing; record; note.
b.
to direct one's writing to a less intelligent reader or audience: He writes down to the public.
19.
write in,
a.
to vote for (a candidate not listed on the ballot) by writing his or her name on the ballot.
b.
to include in or add to a text by writing: Do not write in corrections on the galley.
c.
to request something by mail: If interested, please write in for details.
20.
write off,
a.
to cancel an entry in an account, as an unpaid and uncollectable debt.
b.
to regard as worthless, lost, obsolete, etc.; decide to forget: to write off their bad experience.
c.
to amortize: The new equipment was written off in three years.
21.
write out,
a.
to put into writing.
b.
to write in full form; state completely.
c.
to exhaust the capacity or resources of by excessive writing: He's just another author who has written himself out.
22.
write up,
a.
to put into writing, esp. in full detail: Write up a report.
b.
to present to public notice in a written description or account.
c.
Accounting. to make an excessive valuation of (an asset).
[Origin: bef. 900; ME writen, OE wrītan; c. OS wrītan to cut, write, G reissen to tear, draw, ON rīta to score, write]
To form (letters, words, or symbols) on a surface such as paper with an instrument such as a pen.
To spell: How do you write your name?
To form (letters or words) in cursive style.
To compose and set down, especially in literary or musical form: write a poem; write a prelude.
To draw up in legal form; draft: write a will.
To fill in or cover with writing: write a check; wrote five pages in an hour.
To express in writing; set down: write one's thoughts.
To communicate by correspondence: wrote that she was planning to visit.
To underwrite, as an insurance policy.
To indicate; mark: "Utter dejection was written on every face"(Winston S. Churchill).
To ordain or prophesy: It was written that the empire would fall.
Computer Science To transfer or copy (information) from memory to a storage device or output device.
v.
intr.
To trace or form letters, words, or symbols on paper or another surface.
To produce written material, such as articles or books.
To compose a letter; communicate by mail.
To set down in writing.
To reduce in rank, value, or price.
To disparage in writing.
To write in a conspicuously simple or condescending style: felt he had to write down to his students.
To cast a vote by inserting (a name not listed on a ballot).
To insert in a text or document: wrote in an apology at the end of the note.
To communicate with an organization by mail: write in with a completed entry form.
To reduce to zero the book value of (an asset that has become worthless).
To cancel from accounts as a loss.
To consider as a loss or failure: wrote off the rainy first day of the vacation.
To express or compose in writing: write out a request.
To write in full or expanded form: All abbreviations are to be written out.
To write a report or description of, as for publication.
To bring (a journal, for example) up to date.
To overstate the value of (assets).
To report (someone) in writing, as for breaking the law. wrote him up for speeding.
Phrasal Verb(s): write down
To set down in writing.
To reduce in rank, value, or price.
To disparage in writing.
To write in a conspicuously simple or condescending style: felt he had to write down to his students.
write in
To cast a vote by inserting (a name not listed on a ballot).
To insert in a text or document: wrote in an apology at the end of the note.
To communicate with an organization by mail: write in with a completed entry form.
write off
To reduce to zero the book value of (an asset that has become worthless).
To cancel from accounts as a loss.
To consider as a loss or failure: wrote off the rainy first day of the vacation.
write out
To express or compose in writing: write out a request.
To write in full or expanded form: All abbreviations are to be written out.
write up
To write a report or description of, as for publication.
To bring (a journal, for example) up to date.
To overstate the value of (assets).
To report (someone) in writing, as for breaking the law. wrote him up for speeding.
Idiom(s):
write (one's) own ticket
To set one's own terms or course of action entirely according to one's own needs or wishes: an open-ended and generous scholarship that lets recipients write their own ticket.
Idiom(s):
writ large
Signified, expressed, or embodied in a greater or more prominent magnitude or degree: "The man was no more than the boy writ large"(George Eliot).
[Middle English writen, from Old English wrītan.]
Word History: Every western Indo-European language except English derives its verb for "to write" from Latin scrībere: écrire in French, escribir in Spanish, scrivere in Italian, scribaim in Old Irish, ysgrifennu in Welsh, skriva in Breton, skrifa in Old Norse, skrive in Danish and Norwegian, skriva in Swedish, schreiben in German, schrijven in Dutch. The Old English verb "to write" is wrītan, from a Germanic root *writ- that derives from an Indo-European root *wreid- meaning "to cut, scratch, tear, sketch an outline." German still retains this meaning in its cognate verb reissen, "to tear." Only Old English employed wrītan to refer to writing, that is, scratching on parchment with a pen. English shows a similar contrariness in its verb read, being almost the only western European language not to derive its verb for that concept from Latin legere.
Meaningful letters or characters that constitute readable matter.
A written work, especially a literary composition.
The occupation or style of a writer.
Writings(used with a sing. or pl. verb)Bible The third of the three divisions of the Hebrew Scriptures, composed of Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Chronicles. See Table at Bible.
the act of creating written works; "writing was a form of therapy for him"; "it was a matter of disputed authorship"
2.
the work of a writer; anything expressed in letters of the alphabet (especially when considered from the point of view of style and effect); "the writing in her novels is excellent"; "that editorial was a fine piece of writing"
3.
(usually plural) the collected work of an author; "the idea occurs with increasing frequency in Hemingway's writings"
4.
letters or symbols that are written or imprinted on a surface to represent the sounds or words of a language; "he turned the paper over so the writing wouldn't show"; "the doctor's writing was illegible"
5.
the activity of putting something in written form; "she did the thinking while he did the writing"
The sale of an option in an opening transaction. The option writer incurs a potential obligation to buy (if a put is written) or to sell (if a call is written) an asset at a
particular price.
Write\, v. t. [imp. Wrote; p. p. Written; Archaic imp. & p. p. Writ; p. pr. & vb. n. Writing.] [OE. writen, AS. wr[=i]tan; originally, to scratch, to score; akin to OS. wr[=i]tan to write, to tear, to wound, D. rijten to tear, to rend, G. reissen, OHG. r[=i]zan, Icel. r[=i]ta to write, Goth. writs a stroke, dash, letter. Cf. Race tribe, lineage.]1. To set down, as legible characters; to form the conveyance of meaning; to inscribe on any material by a suitable instrument; as, to write the characters called letters; to write figures. 2. To set down for reading; to express in legible or intelligible characters; to inscribe; as, to write a deed; to write a bill of divorcement; hence, specifically, to set down in an epistle; to communicate by letter. Last night she enjoined me to write some lines to one she loves. --Shak. I chose to write the thing I durst not speak To her I loved. --Prior. 3. Hence, to compose or produce, as an author. I purpose to write the history of England from the accession of King James the Second down to a time within the memory of men still living. --Macaulay. 4. To impress durably; to imprint; to engrave; as, truth written on the heart. 5. To make known by writing; to record; to prove by one's own written testimony; -- often used reflexively. He who writes himself by his own inscription is like an ill painter, who, by writing on a shapeless picture which he hath drawn, is fain to tell passengers what shape it is, which else no man could imagine. --Milton. To write to, to communicate by a written document to. Written laws, laws deriving their force from express legislative enactment, as contradistinguished from unwritten, or common, law. See the Note under Law, and Common law, under Common, a.
Writ"ing\, n. 1. The act or art of forming letters and characters on paper, wood, stone, or other material, for the purpose of recording the ideas which characters and words express, or of communicating them to others by visible signs. 2. Anything written or printed; anything expressed in characters or letters; as: (a) Any legal instrument, as a deed, a receipt, a bond, an agreement, or the like. (b) Any written composition; a pamphlet; a work; a literary production; a book; as, the writings of Addison. (c) An inscription. And Pilate wrote a title . . . And the writing was, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. --John xix. 19. 3. Handwriting; chirography. Writing book, a book for practice in penmanship. Writing desk, a desk with a sloping top for writing upon; also, a case containing writing materials, and used in a similar manner. Writing lark (Zo["o]l.), the European yellow-hammer; -- so called from the curious irregular lines on its eggs. [Prov. Eng.] Writing machine. Same as Typewriter. Writing master, one who teaches the art of penmanship. Writing obligatory (Law), a bond. Writing paper, paper intended for writing upon with ink, usually finished with a smooth surface, and sized. Writing school, a school for instruction in penmanship. Writing table, a table fitted or used for writing upon.
The art of writing must have been known in the time of the early Pharaohs. Moses is commanded "to write for a memorial in a book" (Ex. 17:14) a record of the attack of Amalek. Frequent mention is afterwards made of writing (28:11, 21, 29, 36; 31:18; 32:15, 16; 34:1, 28; 39:6, 14, 30). The origin of this art is unknown, but there is reason to conclude that in the age of Moses it was well known. The inspired books of Moses are the most ancient extant writings, although there are written monuments as old as about B.C. 2000. The words expressive of "writing," "book," and "ink," are common to all the branches or dialects of the Semitic language, and hence it has been concluded that this art must have been known to the earliest Semites before they separated into their various tribes, and nations, and families. "The Old Testament and the discoveries of Oriental archaeology alike tell us that the age of the Exodus was throughout the world of Western Asia an age of literature and books, of readers and writers, and that the cities of Palestine were stored with the contemporaneous records of past events inscribed on imperishable clay. They further tell us that the kinsfolk and neighbours of the Israelites were already acquainted with alphabetic writing, that the wanderers in the desert and the tribes of Edom were in contact with the cultured scribes and traders of Ma'in [Southern Arabia], and that the 'house of bondage' from which Israel had escaped was a land where the art of writing was blazoned not only on the temples of the gods, but also on the dwellings of the rich and powerful.", Sayce. (See DEBIR T0000995; PHOENICIA.) The "Book of the Dead" was a collection of prayers and formulae, by the use of which the souls of the dead were supposed to attain to rest and peace in the next world. It was composed at various periods from the earliest time to the Persian conquest. It affords an interesting glimpse into the religious life and system of belief among the ancient Egyptians. We learn from it that they believed in the existence of one Supreme Being, the immortality of the soul, judgement after death, and the resurrection of the body. It shows, too, a high state of literary activity in Egypt in the time of Moses. It refers to extensive libraries then existing. That of Ramessium, in Thebes, e.g., built by Rameses II., contained 20,000 books. When the Hebrews entered Canaan it is evident that the art of writing was known to the original inhabitants, as appears, e.g., from the name of the city Debir having been at first Kirjath-sepher, i.e., the "city of the book," or the "book town" (Josh. 10:38; 15:15; Judg. 1:11). The first mention of letter-writing is in the time of David (2 Sam. 11:14, 15). Letters are afterwards frequently spoken of (1 Kings 21:8, 9, 11; 2 Kings 10:1, 3, 6, 7; 19:14; 2 Chr. 21:12-15; 30:1, 6-9, etc.).
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