1
: an elimination of an item from the books of account
2
a
: a reduction in book value of an item (as by way of depreciation)
b
: a tax deduction of an amount of depreciation, expense, or loss
3
chiefly British
: something (such as a damaged vehicle) or someone regarded or conceded as a loss
wrote off; written off; writing off; writes off
1
: to eliminate (an asset) from the books : enter as a loss or expense
write off a bad loan
2
: to regard or concede to be lost
most were content to write off 1979 and look optimistically ahead—
Money
MoneySynonyms
Examples of write-off in a Sentence
Verb
most critics have already written off that director as a hack incapable of turning out anything but schlock
that one blunder will write off to nothing all the goodwill we've been building up
Recent Examples on the WebJonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 5 June 2024
There have been entire recent movies that were deleted by Warner Bros. Discovery so the company could claim a tax write-off.
—Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 28 Feb. 2024
Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 31 May 2024
So the study participants, who had carried their debt for more than a year at a minimum, may have already been subconsciously writing off the medical debt by the time relief came, the authors said.
—Dylan Scott, Vox, 2 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for write-off 
Noun
But 24-hour racing is really hard, and the race wasn't a write-off for Toyota.
—Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 5 June 2024
There have been entire recent movies that were deleted by Warner Bros. Discovery so the company could claim a tax write-off.
—Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 28 Feb. 2024
Verb
Justin Chambers abruptly left the series in season 16 and there were only so many ways to write off his character.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 31 May 2024
So the study participants, who had carried their debt for more than a year at a minimum, may have already been subconsciously writing off the medical debt by the time relief came, the authors said.
—Dylan Scott, Vox, 2 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for write-off
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'write-off.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near write-off
Cite this Entry
“Write-off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/write-off. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
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