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to write

to write

∞ 1.6
Create a story or poem by putting words together
  • verb
  • /raɪt/
  • Literature
: escribir
  • The students were excited to write stories for the school competition.
  • write a book
  • write a story
  • write a poem

And there were plans to write more of these novels.

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Examples

  • What made you want to write this particular book?

  • Twelve authors would each pick a month to write about in the context of landscape.

    Academic text (2011)
  • You just sit down and write a book, a short book.

  • This is the time for you to write and finish those songs.

  • I want you to direct or write something for me.

  • And there were plans to write more of these novels.

  • I'm trying to write about them at the moment.

  • You're going to write a great book...

  • Jane has attempted for thirty years to write one sonnet each fortnight, beginning Monday morning.

    Academic text (2013)
  • After years of practice, she finally managed to write her first novel.

Synonyms

to create
vsto write
143 3.4

To make things like paintings, music, or stories for enjoyment

is specific to producing literary texts rather than general artistic work
to compose
vsto write
105 3.5

To make writing, music, or a plan

limits use to making literary texts rather than varied kinds of content
to author
vsto write
  • Formal
66 4.2

To write a book or article

is about producing the text itself rather than being named creator
to pen
vsto write
  • Literature
38 6.0

To write something carefully, often a long text

focuses less on careful formality and more on general literary production
to indite
vsto write
  • Archaic
1 9.9

To write a formal text like a speech or poem

is broader, covers making literary works in any style

Idioms

To be the leading expert on a subject

4 7.3

To be good or special enough to tell people at home about

To promise something you cannot do

1 9.4

Make stories or poems and keep them private, not share them

To be able to choose your own job or future because you are successful

Phrasal Verbs

∞ 2.1

Give details in words about a topic, for example in a book or article

538 1.1

Put information on paper to help you remember it later

196 3.6

To produce texts like articles or books about a subject

90 3.5

Put information into a complete report

89 4.8

To accept that something cannot be fixed or is not worth more attention

59 2.4

Put all the details on a form or paper

to write off
  • Specialized
45 4.8

To cancel a debt or reduce an asset's value in accounts

37 6.3

Add the name of a person not on the ballot as your vote

34 4.2

Send a message to a radio show to say what you think

to write up
  • Literature
34 4.3

Make a report about someone that appears in news or an official file

to write itself
  • Informal
9 5.2

To develop easily and naturally without much effort

to write copy
  • Jargon
5 4.4

To make short text for ads and marketing

to write off
  • Informal
1 4.1

To put words down quickly without much thought

Compounds

write-up
  • Literature
23 3.9

A short article that describes an event, often in a newspaper or magazine

17 7.0

A vote for a person whose name the voter adds to the ballot

write-off
  • Specialized
13 5.7

Removing the value of a debt or asset from accounts when it cannot be paid

9 3.8

An amount you can subtract from your income to reduce the tax you pay

A person not on the ballot who people choose by writing their name

write-down
  • Specialized
3 6.4

A reduction in the value of something a company owns to show it is now worth less

6.5

A CD you can record on once and then only read

How Careful

to author
  • Formal
66 4.2
to compose
105 3.5
to write
  • Literature
∞ 1.6
to jot down
  • Informal
33 2.9
to scribble
52 3.5

Surface Forms

write infinitive
writing present participle
writes third person singular
wrote past
written past participle

Etymology

Write comes from an old English word writan meaning 'to scratch' or 'to draw lines'. So to write a story is like making marks that keep your ideas on the page, which is why we use the same word for creating books and poems.