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 WebRosy Cordero, Deadline, 8 Aug. 2024
That would cover more than 20 million units nationwide, or roughly half of all rentals in the U.S.
The plan would put valuable tax write-offs at risk as a way of getting landlords on board.
—Seth Klamann, The Denver Post, 20 July 2024
Indiewire Staff, IndieWire, 12 Aug. 2024
However, in order to write off charitable donations, the taxpayer has to be an itemizer and can't take the standard deduction, Styron said.
—Gina Lee Castro, Journal Sentinel, 25 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for write-off 
Noun
The project was originally greenlit for HBO Max in 2021 but the movie was among the content write-offs at HBO Max during restructuring.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 8 Aug. 2024
That would cover more than 20 million units nationwide, or roughly half of all rentals in the U.S.
The plan would put valuable tax write-offs at risk as a way of getting landlords on board.
—Seth Klamann, The Denver Post, 20 July 2024
Verb
Every medical professional basically views Lazarescu as a nuisance at best and an outright drain on the system at worse, preferring to write off every one his symptoms as a byproduct of alcoholism.
—Indiewire Staff, IndieWire, 12 Aug. 2024
However, in order to write off charitable donations, the taxpayer has to be an itemizer and can't take the standard deduction, Styron said.
—Gina Lee Castro, Journal Sentinel, 25 July 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 18 Aug. 2024.
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