Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Write
Write
,Verb.
T.
[
imp.
Wrote
; p. p.
Written
; Archaic imp. & p. p.
Writ
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Writing
.] [OE.
writen
, AS. wrītan
; originally, to scratch, to score; akin to OS. wrītan
to write, to tear, to wound, D. rijten
to tear, to rend, G. reissen
, OHG. rīzan
, Icel. rīta
to write, Goth. writs
a stroke, dash, letter. Cf. Race
tribe, lineage.] 1.
To set down, as legible characters; to form the conveyance of meaning; to inscribe on any material by a suitable instrument;
as, to
. write
the characters called letters; to write
figures2.
To set down for reading; to express in legible or intelligible characters; to inscribe;
as, to
; hence, specifically, to set down in an epistle; to communicate by letter. write
a deed; to write
a bill of divorcementLast night she enjoined me to
write
some lines to one she loves. Shakespeare
I chose to
To her I loved.
write
the thing I durst not speakTo her I loved.
Prior.
3.
Hence, to compose or produce, as an author.
I purpose to
write
the history of England from the accession of King James the Second down to a time within the memory of men still living. Macaulay.
4.
To impress durably; to imprint; to engrave;
as, truth
. written
on the heart5.
To make known by writing; to record; to prove by one’s own written testimony; – often used reflexively.
He who
writes
himself by his own inscription is like an ill painter, who, by writing on a shapeless picture which he hath drawn, is fain to tell passengers what shape it is, which else no man could imagine. Milton.
Write
,Verb.
I.
1.
To form characters, letters, or figures, as representative of sounds or ideas; to express words and sentences by written signs.
Chaucer.
So it stead you, I will
Please you command.
write
,Please you command.
Shakespeare
2.
To be regularly employed or occupied in writing, copying, or accounting; to act as clerk or amanuensis;
as, he
. writes
in one of the public offices3.
To frame or combine ideas, and express them in written words; to play the author; to recite or relate in books; to compose.
They can
write
up to the dignity and character of the authors. Felton.
4.
To compose or send letters.
He
wrote
for all the Jews that went out of his realm up into Jewry concerning their freedom. 1 Esdras iv. 49.
Webster 1828 Edition
Write
WRITE
,Verb.
T.
1.
To form by a pen on paper or other material, or by a graver on wood or stone; as, to write the characters called letters; to write figures. We write characters on paper with pen and ink; we write them on stone with a graving tool.2.
To express by forming letters and words on paper or stone; as, to write a deed; to write a bill of divorcement. The ten commandments were written with the finger of God on tables of stone. Exodus 31.3.
To engrave. [See the preceding definition.]4.
To impress durable. Write useful truths on the heart.5.
To compose or produce, as an author.6.
To copy; to transcribe.7.
To communicate by letter.I chose to write the thing I durst not speak to her I lovd.
WRITE
,Verb.
I.
1.
To perform the act of forming characters, letters or figures, as representatives of sounds or ideas. Learn to write when young.2.
To be employed as a clerk or an amanuensis. A writes for B. D writes in one of the public offices.3.
To play the author; as, he thinks, he speaks, he writes, he sings.4.
To recite or relate in books. Josephus wrote of the wars of the Jews.5.
To send letters.He wrote for all the Jews concerning their freedom.
6.
To call ones self; to be entitled; to use the style of.Those who began to write themselves men, but thought it no shame to learn.
7.
To compose; to frame or combine ideas and express them in words.They can write up to the dignity and character of their authors.
Definition 2024
write
write
English
Verb
write (third-person singular simple present writes, present participle writing, simple past wrote or (archaic) writ, past participle written or (archaic) writ)
- (transitive, intransitive) To form letters, words or symbols on a surface in order to communicate.
- The pupil wrote his name on the paper.
- Your son has been writing on the wall.
- (transitive) To be the author of (a book, article, poem, etc.).
- My uncle writes newspaper articles for The Herald.
- 1893, Walter Besant, The Ivory Gate, Prologue:
- Thus, when he drew up instructions in lawyer language […]; his clerks, however, understood him very well. If he had written a love letter, or a farce, or a ballade, or a story, no one, either clerks, or friends, or compositors, would have understood anything but a word here and a word there.
- (transitive) To send written information to.
- (UK) Please write to me when you get there.
- (US) Please write me when you get there.
- (transitive) To show (information, etc) in written form.
- The due day of the homework is written in the syllabus.
- (intransitive) To be an author.
- I write for a living.
- (transitive, computing) To record (data) mechanically or electronically.
- The computer writes to the disk faster than it reads from it.
- (transitive, South Africa, Canada, of a form, a document, etc.) To fill in, to complete using words.
- I was very anxious to know my score after I wrote the test.
- To impress durably; to imprint; to engrave.
- truth written on the heart
- To make known by writing; to record; to prove by one's own written testimony; often used reflexively.
- John Milton (1608-1674)
- He who writes himself by his own inscription is like an ill painter, who, by writing on a shapeless picture which he hath drawn, is fain to tell passengers what shape it is, which else no man could imagine.
- John Milton (1608-1674)
Conjugation
conjugation of write
| infinitive | write | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present participle | writing | ||||||||||
| past participle | written | ||||||||||
| simple | progressive | perfect | perfect progressive | ||||||||
| present | I write | we write | I am writing | we are writing | I have written | we have written | I have been writing | we have been writing | |||
| you write | you write | you are writing | you are writing | you have written | you have written | you have been writing | you have been writing | ||||
| he writes | they write | he is writing | they are writing | he has written | they have written | he has been writing | they have been writing | ||||
| past | I wrote | we wrote | I was writing | we were writing | I had written | we had written | I had been writing | we had been writing | |||
| you wrote | you wrote | you were writing | you were writing | you had written | you had written | you had been writing | you had been writing | ||||
| he wrote | they wrote | he was writing | they were writing | he had written | they had written | he had been writing | they had been writing | ||||
| future | I will write | we will write | I will be writing | we will be writing | I will have written | we will have written | I will have been writing | we will have been writing | |||
| you will write | you will write | you will be writing | you will be writing | you will have written | you will have written | you will have been writing | you will have been writing | ||||
| he will write | they will write | he will be writing | they will be writing | he will have written | they will have written | he will have been writing | they will have been writing | ||||
| conditional | I would write | we would write | I would be writing | we would be writing | I would have written | we would have written | I would have been writing | we would have been writing | |||
| you would write | you would write | you would be writing | you would be writing | you would have written | you would have written | you would have been writing | you would have been writing | ||||
| he would write | they would write | he would be writing | they would be writing | he would have written | they would have written | he would have been writing | they would have been writing | ||||
| imperative | write | ||||||||||
Synonyms
- (form letters, words or symbols in order to communicate): inscribe, scrawl (indistinctly), scribble (quickly or imprecisely)
- (be the author of): author, pen
- (send (a letter) to): to post
- (show (information, etc) in written form): display, indicate, mark, show
- (computing: store (data)): save, store
- See also Wikisaurus:write
Antonyms
Derived terms
Terms derived from write
Related terms
Related terms
Translations
to form letters, etc.
|
|
to send a letter to
|
|
to be the author of
|
|
to show (information)
to be an author
|
|
record (data)
|
|
Noun
write (plural writes)
- (computing) The operation of storing data, as in memory or onto disk.
- How many writes per second can this hard disk handle?
- 2006, MySQL administrator's guide and language reference (page 393)
- In other words, the system can do 1200 reads per second with no writes, the average write is twice as slow as the average read, and the relationship is linear.
References
- write in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
- write in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
Statistics
Most common English words before 1923: merely · struck · man's · #650: write · caught · below · window
Anagrams
Etymology
From Middle English writen, from Old English wrītan (“to incise, engrave, write, draw, bestow by writing”), from Proto-Germanic *wrītaną (“to carve, write”), from Proto-Indo-European *wrey- (“to rip, tear”). Cognate with West Frisian write (“to wear by rubbing, rip, tear”), Dutch wrijten (“to argue, quarrel”), Low German wrieten, rieten (“to tear, split”), Swedish rita (“to draw, design, delineate, model”), Icelandic rita (“to cut, scratch, write”), German ritzen (“to carve, scratch”). See also rit and rat.
