- write
-
verb
(wrote; written; also writ or dialect wrote; writing)
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English wrītan to scratch, draw, inscribe; akin to Old High German rīzan to tear and perhaps to Greek rhinē file, rasp
Date: before 12th century
transitive verb
1.
a. to form (as characters or symbols) on a surface with an instrument (as a pen)
b. to form (as words) by inscribing the characters or symbols of on a surface
c. to spell in writing <words written alike but pronounced differently> d. to cover, fill, or fill in by writing <wrote ten pages> <write a check> 2. to set down in writing: as a. draw up, draft <write a will> b. (1) to be the author of ; compose <writes poems and essays> (2) to compose in musical form <write a string quartet> c. to express in literary form <if I could write the beauty of your eyes — Shakespeare> d. to communicate by letter <writes that they are coming> e. to use or exhibit (a specific script, language, or literary form or style) in writing <write Braille> <writes French with ease> f. to write contracts or orders for; especially underwrite <write life insurance> 3. to make a permanent impression of 4. to communicate with in writing <we'll write you when we get there> 5. ordain, fate <so be it, it is written — D. C. Peattie> 6. to make evident or obvious <guilt written on his face> 7. to force, effect, introduce, or remove by writing <write oneself into fame and fortune — Charles Lee> 8. to take part in or bring about (something worth recording) 9. a. to introduce (information) into the storage device or medium of a computer b. to transfer (information) from the main memory of a computer to a storage or output device 10. sell <write a stock option> intransitive verb 1. a. to make significant characters or inscriptions; also to permit or be adapted to writing b. to form or produce written letters, words, or sentences 2. to compose, communicate by, or send a letter 3. a. to produce a written work b. to compose music
New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.