write

RYT/ɹaɪt/

13 meanings of write

1
creative workverbtransitive
To compose and be the author of a book, article, poem, song, or similar work, or to do this as a job or pastime.
Authors who write novels often spend years on a single book.
She wrote a long article about climate policy.
UsageYou write about a subject: write about climate policy. Its forms are wrote and written.
Similarcompose, author, pen
2
put down wordsverbtransitive
To mark letters, words, numbers, or symbols on a surface or screen; to put information down in written form.
Always write the amount in both figures and words.
She wrote the results plainly across the whiteboard.
UsageOften write something down; write in pen or in English; write on the board.
Similarrecord, enter
Note
An archaic participle survives in writ large: literally written in big letters, but today mostly meaning the same thing on a bigger, plainer scale, as in the dispute was their old rivalry writ large. Time used it in 1957 for Ghana's motto on the Independence Arch, and a 1959 railway article used it for a firm's name on a locomotive.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Time used “writ large” in 1957 for Ghana’s motto on the Independence Arch. en.wiktionary.org
A 1959 railway article used “writ large” for a firm’s name on a locomotive. en.wiktionary.org
3
verb
To state, report, or declare something in writing ('Reporters write that the talks have stalled').
Reporters write that the talks have stalled again.
He wrote that the meeting had been moved to Friday.
UsageOften write that + a clause: he wrote that the meeting had moved. The that can be left out.
Similarreport, state, say
Note
A 1916 Saturday Evening Post advertisement has a man who "wrote me he thought he could almost shave" with the back of the blade.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
The advertisement appeared in the Saturday Evening Post in 1916. en.wiktionary.org
The advertisement reports that a man wrote that he thought he could almost shave with the back of the blade; the quoted wording is exact. en.wiktionary.org
4
verbtransitive
To send written information, such as a letter or message, to someone.
She promised to write him as soon as she arrived.
They wrote the senator to demand a clear response.
UsageWrite to someone; in American English, also write someone: write me soon.
Similarcontact, message
5
build programsverbtransitive
To produce software or code by composing instructions in a programming language.
Most of our developers write code in Python and JavaScript.
The script was written in an afternoon and has run every night for five years.
UsageYou write code or a program, in a language: written in Python.
Similarcode, program

Less common meanings

6
store dataverbintransitive
To record data mechanically or electronically, as into memory or onto a disk.
The controller writes to flash storage in fixed-size blocks.
Older drives write more slowly than modern solid-state ones.
UsageUsually with to: writes to the disk, writes to memory. Its partner is read from.
Similarsave, store, record
Oppositeread
Note
Computing borrowed the verb for putting data onto a medium, and paired it with read: a computer reads from a disk and writes to it. The countable noun for a single storage operation comes from the same usage.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Computing extended the human verbs write and read metaphorically to computer operations. en.wikipedia.org
The countable computing noun write refers to an operation of storing data, corresponding to the verb's recording sense. en.wiktionary.org
7
store datanouncountable
An operation that stores data, as in memory or onto a disk.
A single write can update thousands of records at once.
The database batches writes to improve performance.
UsageOften plural and paired with reads: writes per second, reads and writes.
Oppositeread
Note
Engineers measure writes per second, and the MySQL Administrator's Guide and Language Reference (2006) compares the average write with the average read. The plural writes describes the storage workload a disk or database must handle. The action itself belongs to the data-recording verb.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
Writes per second is a measured computing workload. dev.mysql.com
MySQL Administrator's Guide and Language Reference was published in 2006. oreilly.com
The book compares the average write with the average read. en.wiktionary.org
8
take an examverbCanadaSouth Africatransitive
To sit or take an exam or test as a candidate.
Most students write their final exams in the second week of June.
He wrote the driving theory test twice before he finally passed.
UsageIn the US people take an exam; in the UK they take or sit one.
Similarcomplete
Note
A regional use, at home in Canada and South Africa and also common in Nigeria. To write an exam or a test is to sit it as a candidate, not to set it. The anxious student who wrote the test is waiting for a score. In Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀'s A Spell of Good Things (2023), a father wants his son to write the exams again.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ wrote A Spell of Good Things, first published in 2023. ouidabooks.com
In the novel, a father wants his son to take the exams again. en.wiktionary.org
9
leave a markverbtransitive
To impress something durably; to imprint or engrave it onto a surface or the mind.
Long winters write themselves into the rings of every tree.
Grief had written itself across her tired features.
UsageOften as written on or written in: written on her face, written in my memory.
Similaretch, imprint, engrave, stamp, inscribe
Note
The figurative descendant of carving, which suits a verb whose roots meant scratching and tearing (see the basic sense). What is written here is fixed for good, like truth written on the heart. The King James Bible of 1611 speaks of the law "written in their hearts".
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
The verb has an ancestral meaning involving carving and scratching. en.wiktionary.org
The verb has been traced to a root meaning ripping or tearing. en.wiktionary.org
The King James Bible was first published in 1611. commons.wikimedia.org
The King James Bible uses the exact words “written in their hearts” concerning the law, in Romans 2:15. en.wikisource.org
10
noun
The act or experience of writing something, or the way a pen or other tool writes.
11
verb
To sell an option or other derivative contract.
12
verb
To paint a religious icon or a pysanka, a wax-decorated Easter egg.
13
verb
Of an insurer or underwriter: to take on a risk in exchange for premiums by issuing a policy or offering a type of coverage.

Practice

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Origin

It comes from Middle English writen and Old English wrītan, going back to Proto-Germanic *wrītaną ('to carve, write'), whose deeper origin is unclear. Related words include German reißen ('to tear, rip') and Icelandic rita ('to write, inscribe'), reflecting the early sense of scratching or carving marks.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 6 facts

Write descends from Middle English writen and Old English wrītan, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *wrītaną. en.wiktionary.org
Proto-Germanic *wrītaną meant to carve or write. en.wiktionary.org
The deeper origin of *wrītaną is unclear. en.wiktionary.org
German reißen is related and means to tear or rip. en.wiktionary.org
Icelandic rita is related and means to write or inscribe. en.wiktionary.org
The ancestral word had senses involving scratching or carving marks. en.wiktionary.org