write (rīt)

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[Middle English writen, from Old English wrītan.]

verb: wrote (rōt), writ·ten (rĭt́n), also writ (rĭt), writ·ing, writes. 

transitive verb 

1. 1. To form (letters, words, or symbols) on a surface such as paper with an instrument such as a pen.
   2. To spell: How do you write your name?
2. To form (letters or words) in cursive style.
3. To compose and set down, especially in literary or musical form: write a poem; write a prelude.
4. To draw up in legal form; draft: write a will.
5. To fill in or cover with writing: write a check; wrote five pages in an hour.
6. To express in writing; set down: write one's thoughts.
7. To communicate by correspondence: wrote that she was planning to visit.
8. To underwrite, as an insurance policy.
9. To indicate; mark: “Utter dejection was written on every face” (Winston S. Churchill)
10. To ordain or prophesy: It was written that the empire would fall.
11. Computer Science To transfer or copy (information) from memory to a storage device or output device.

intransitive verb 

1. To trace or form letters, words, or symbols on paper or another surface.
2. To produce written material, such as articles or books.
3. To compose a letter; communicate by mail.

phrasal verbs

write down

To set down in writing.

To reduce in rank, value, or price.

To disparage in writing.

To write in a conspicuously simple or condescending style: felt he had to write down to his students.

write in

To cast a vote by inserting (a name not listed on a ballot).

To insert in a text or document: wrote in an apology at the end of the note.

To communicate with an organization by mail: write in with a completed entry form.

write off

To reduce to zero the book value of (an asset that has become worthless).

To cancel from accounts as a loss.

To consider as a loss or failure: wrote off the rainy first day of the vacation.

write out

To express or compose in writing: write out a request.

To write in full or expanded form: All abbreviations are to be written out.

write up

To write a report or description of, as for publication.

To bring (a journal, for example) up to date.

To overstate the value of (assets).

To report (someone) in writing, as for breaking the law. wrote him up for speeding.

idioms

write (one's) own ticket

To set one's own terms or course of action entirely according to one's own needs or wishes: an open-ended and generous scholarship that lets recipients write their own ticket.

writ large

Signified, expressed, or embodied in a greater or more prominent magnitude or degree: “The man was no more than the boy writ large” (George Eliot)