write

[[t]ra͟ɪt[/t]]

♦

writes, writing, wrote, written

1) VERB When you write something on a surface, you use something such as a pen or pencil to produce words, letters, or numbers on the surface.

[V n adv/prep] If you'd like one, simply write your name and address on a postcard and send it to us...

They were still trying to teach her to read and write...

[V n] He wrote the word `fingerprints' and put a query.

2) VERB If you write something such as a book, a poem, or a piece of music, you create it and record it on paper or perhaps on a computer.

[V n] I had written quite a lot of orchestral music in my student days...

[V n] Finding a volunteer to write the computer program isn't a problem...

[V n for n] Thereafter she wrote articles for papers and magazines in Paris...

[V n n] Jung Lu wrote me a poem once.

3) VERB Someone who writes creates books, stories, or articles, usually for publication.

Jay wanted to write...

[V for n] She writes for many papers, including the Sunday Times...

[V on/about n] He now works in industry and writes on science in his spare time.

4) VERB When you write to someone or write them a letter, you give them information, ask them something, or express your feelings in a letter. In American English, you can also write someone.

nothing to write home about → see home

[V to n] Apparently she had written to her aunt in Holland asking for artistic advice...

[V n n] She had written him a note a couple of weeks earlier...

[V n to n] I wrote a letter to the car rental agency, explaining what had happened...

Why didn't you write, call, anything?...

[V n] He had written her in Italy but received no reply.

5) VERB If someone writes that something is the case, they say it in a letter, book, or article.

[V with quote] `Some six months later,' Freud writes, `Hans had got over his jealousy.'...

[V that] A few days later he wrote that he had hopes of a staff job.

6) VERB When someone writes something such as a cheque, receipt, or prescription, they put the necessary information on it and usually sign it.

[V n] Snape wrote a receipt with a gold fountain pen...

[V n n] I'll write you a cheque in a moment. [Also V n for n]

PHRASAL VERB

Write out means the same as write.

V P n (not pron) We went straight to the estate agent and wrote out a cheque... Also V n P V n P n Get my wife to write you out a receipt before you leave.

7) → See also , written

Phrasal Verbs:

- write back

- write down

- write in

- write into

- write off

- write out

- write up