How to Write a Word Definition as Dictionary

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This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.

This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.

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verb (used with object), wrote or (Archaic) writ; writ·ten or (Archaic) writ; writ·ing.

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.

to express or communicate in writing; give a written account of: She wrote to thank us for the hospitality.

to fill in the blank spaces of (a printed form) with writing: to write a check.

to execute or produce by setting down words, figures, etc.: to write two copies of a letter.

to compose and produce in words or characters duly set down: to write a letter to a friend.

to produce as author or composer: to write a sonnet; to write a symphony.

to trace significant characters on, or mark or cover with writing.

to cause to be apparent or unmistakable: Honesty is written on his face.

Computers. to transfer (information, data, programs, etc.) from storage to secondary storage or an output medium.

Stock Exchange. to sell (options).

verb (used without object), wrote or (Archaic) writ; writ·ten or (Archaic) writ; writ·ing.

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.

to write as a profession or occupation: She writes for the Daily Inquirer.

to express ideas in writing: He wrote about his trip to Borneo.

to write a letter or letters, or communicate by letter: Write if you get work.

to compose or work as a writer or author.

Computers. to write into a secondary storage device or output medium.

Verb Phrases

write down,

1. to set down in writing; record; note.
2. to direct one's writing to a less intelligent reader or audience:He writes down to the public.

write in,

1. to vote for (a candidate not listed on the ballot) by writing his or her name on the ballot.
2. to include in or add to a text by writing: Do not write in corrections on the galley.
3. to request something by mail: If interested, please write in for details.

write off,

1. to cancel an entry in an account, as an unpaid and uncollectable debt.
2. to regard as worthless, lost, obsolete, etc.; decide to forget: to write off their bad experience.
3. to amortize: The new equipment was written off in three years.

write out,

1. to put into writing.
2. to write in full form; state completely.
3. to exhaust the capacity or resources of by excessive writing: He's just another author who has written himself out.

write up,

1. to put into writing, especially in full detail: My boss asked me to write up a report for the meeting on Monday, so I cancelled my plans and worked on it all weekend.
2. to present to public notice in a written description or account.
3. to document a violation, complaint, or charge against, especially in a recommendation for disciplinary action: Is it true that you were written up by your French teacher because you set a classroom dictionary on fire?
4. Accounting. to make an excessive valuation of (an asset).

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Which of the following words describes "sky blue"?

Origin of write

First recorded before 900; Middle English writen, Old English wrītan; cognate with Old Saxon wrītan "to cut, write," German reissen "to tear, draw," Old Norse rīta "to score, write"

OTHER WORDS FROM write

mis·write, verb (used with object), mis·wrote, mis·writ·ten, mis·writ·ing.

Words nearby write

wrist watch, wrist wrestling, wristy, writ, writable, write, write-down, write-in, write-in candidate, write-off, write one's own ticket

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

learn more about write

Words related to write

address, compose, create, draft, note, pen, print, record, rewrite, scrawl, scribble, sign, tell, author, autograph, chalk, commit, communicate, copy, correspond

How to use write in a sentence

• "It was ludicrous," Troye now says, but she helped write it.

• He has been writing during unusual times, even before the pandemic spread earlier this year.

• I've written before about the remarkable acceleration of digital transformation that's taken place during the pandemic.

• It is fully collapsible, lightweight and offers a bold graphic "LAUNDRY" written on the side of the bin.

• We have written time and time again about the role good goaltending plays in a successful Stanley Cup run.

• At some point during his busy schedule, Israel found the time to write a book, titled The Global War on Morris.

• My publisher had asked, "If you wanted to write another book, what would you want to write about?"

• You write a lot about how you were a jerk or a snob when it came to comedy or film.

• What made you want to write a memoir now about your "addiction" to film?

• And "what kind of person," Steinberg asks, "dares to write a sequel to the Bible?"

• Now first we shall want our pupil to understand, speak, read and write the mother tongue well.

• I've never had time to write home about it, for I felt that it required a dissertation in itself to do it justice.

• The other is the new theory: that the Bible is the work of many men whom God had inspired to speak or write the truth.

• Whatever you do, don't write a word to that Carr friend of yours; he's as sharp as a two-edged sword.

• He must write down the first two words, "Ice" and "Slippery," the latter word under the former.

British Dictionary definitions for write

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verb writes, writing, wrote or written

to draw or mark (symbols, words, etc) on a surface, usually paper, with a pen, pencil, or other instrument

to describe or record (ideas, experiences, etc) in writing

to compose (a letter) to or correspond regularly with (a person, organization, etc)

(tr; may take a clause as object) to say or communicate by letter he wrote that he was on his way

(tr) informal, mainly US and Canadian to send a letter to (a person, etc)

to write (words) in cursive as opposed to printed style

(tr) to be sufficiently familiar with (a specified style, language, etc) to use it in writing

to be the author or composer of (books, music, etc)

(tr) to fill in the details for (a document, form, etc)

(tr) to draw up or draft

(tr) to produce by writing he wrote ten pages

(tr) to show clearly envy was written all over his face

(tr) to spell, inscribe, or entitle

(tr) to ordain or prophesy it is written

(tr) to sit (an examination)

(intr) to produce writing as specified

computing to record (data) in a location in a storage device Compare read 1 (def. 16)

Derived forms of write

writable, adjective

Word Origin for write

Old English wrītan (originally: to scratch runes into bark); related to Old Frisian wrīta, Old Norse rīta, Old High German rīzan (German reissen to tear)

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

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In addition to the idioms beginning with write

• write down
• write in
• write off
• write one's own ticket
• write out
• write up

also see:

• nothing to write home about

Also see underwrote.

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

How to Write a Word Definition as Dictionary

Source: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/write

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