writer
Pluralwriters
- 1A person who writes, especially someone who produces books, articles, or other literary work.
The writer spent three years researching her novel.
Several writers contributed essays to the anthology.
UsageAlso for anyone who writes a lot, as in a frequent letter writer; in formal prose, the present writer means I.
Similarauthor, scribe, wordsmith
Note
The broadest sense, and the oldest: Old English wrītere could mean a scribe, a copyist, a draughtsman or even a painter, anyone whose hand made marks. The word is simply write plus -er. Authors still use it of themselves in a formal, self-effacing phrase, the present writer, instead of saying I. In casual speech, she's quite a writer! can be said of someone who simply writes often, such as a frequent letter writer, with no published work behind it.
Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- The general personal sense goes back to Old English, when wrītere could denote a scribe, copyist, draughtsman or painter. en.wiktionary.org
- Writer is equivalent to write plus the agent suffix -er. en.wiktionary.org
- 2A device or mechanism that records information or produces output.
My old laptop still has a DVD writer, though I can't remember the last time I burned a disc.
Modern drives combine a reader and a writer in one unit.
Oppositereader
Note
Programmers use the word for software as well as hardware. In Cay S. Horstmann and Gary Cornell's Core Java 2: Fundamentals, a writer is an object that sends characters to a destination, and a buffered one holds them until they are flushed out. In code it pairs with reader: one takes data in, the other puts it out.
Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Cay S. Horstmann and Gary Cornell wrote Core Java 2: Fundamentals, which discusses a writer's buffered characters being sent to their destination. en.wiktionary.org
- The book contains an example involving a buffered writer and flushing. en.wiktionary.org
- A writer outputs characters; buffering is optional. The cited passage concerns a particular buffered configuration. docs.oracle.com
- 3The seller of an option, who grants the buyer the right to exercise it.
The writer of the call option pocketed the premium upfront.
If prices fall sharply, the put writer faces substantial losses.
UsageOften call writer or put writer; the verb is write: to write a call option.
Note
In options trading the writer is the side that takes on an obligation rather than a right. The writer collects the premium up front and, if the holder exercises, must buy or deliver the underlying asset at the strike price, or pay the cash difference when the option is cash-settled.
Less common meanings
- 4A graffiti artist, especially one who paints stylized tags or pieces in public spaces.
Every writer in the crew had a distinct lettering style.
Police arrested the writer caught painting the subway wall.
Similartagger
Note
The graffiti world's own name for its practitioners, fitting for a craft built on lettering. Jonathan Lethem's The Fortress of Solitude (2003) has writers reunited with their crews, and Lisa Gottlieb's Graffiti Art Styles (2008) speaks of a writer's personal style. It keeps company with crew and style, and outside that setting a reader may need context to tell this writer from one who writes books.
Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- Jonathan Lethem wrote The Fortress of Solitude, first published in 2003. albany.edu
- The Fortress of Solitude describes writers reunited with their crews. en.wiktionary.org
- Lisa Gottlieb wrote Graffiti Art Styles, first published in 2008. mcfarlandbooks.com
- Graffiti Art Styles discusses a writer's personal style. en.wiktionary.org
- 5In the US Navy, a petty officer responsible for keeping a ship's watch-muster and other record books.
- 6An ordinary legal practitioner in the country towns of Scotland; effectively a local solicitor.
- 7In the East India Company, a clerk of a set rank who was promoted to factor after a specified number of years' service.
Practice
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Origin
English had it as writer, writere in Middle English, continuing Old English wrītere ("draftsman, painter, writer, scribe, copyist") and ġewritere ("writer, composer"); it amounts to write plus -er. Icelandic and Faroese have a matching word, ritari ("clerk, secretary").