Write off meaning
Write off means to accept that money is lost and will not be paid back. It can also mean to decide that someone or something will not be successful or useful.
write something off
write off · wrote · written · writing
The bank wrote off the small debt.
Write off meanings and examples
3 meanings, each with its own CEFR level. A level marked ~ is our estimate: Oxford and Cambridge give none for that meaning.
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1
Accept that money is lost and will not be paid back
write something off
- The bank wrote off the small debt.
- We had to write off the money we lent them.
- Will the company write the loss off this year?
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2
Decide that someone or something will not be successful or useful
write somebody or something off
- Everyone had written the team off, but they won the cup.
- Don’t write her off. She’s stronger than you think.
- I wrote off the whole day as a waste.
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3
Damage a car so badly that it is not worth fixing (UK)
write something off
- He wrote off his dad’s car the week after he passed his test.
- Nobody was hurt, but the van was written off.
- Did you write the car off in that crash?
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Use write off in real conversations
- Learn new words with picture cards
- Talk with Felix, an AI tutor, about the things you love
- Short lessons at your level, a few minutes a day
Is write off separable?
Write off is separable: write off the car, write the car off, write it off. The passive is very common: The car was written off.
The noun is a write-off: The car is a write-off. In UK speech, a day can also be a write-off when nothing good happened.
Verb tenses for write off
| Present | I write off · she writes off |
|---|---|
| Past | wrote off |
| Present perfect | have written off |
| -ing form | writing off |
Common mistakes with write off
What learners often say, and what to say instead.
Wrong: The car was so damaged that the insurance wrote off it.
Right: The car was so damaged that the insurance wrote it off.
A pronoun goes between write and off.
Wrong: My bike is a write off.
Right: My bike is a write-off.
The noun has a hyphen.
Wrong: I wrote off the address so I wouldn’t forget it.
Right: I wrote down the address so I wouldn’t forget it.
To note something, use write down. Write off means damage or give up on.
Synonyms and opposites of write off
Words close to it, and words that mean the opposite.
Similar
- totalUS informal; damage a car completely: He totalled his car
- dismissdecide someone or something is not important
- give up onstop hoping someone or something will succeed
Opposite
- repairfix something that is damaged
- believe infeel sure someone can succeed
Write off quiz
Three quick questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why.
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1The company closed, so the bank had to ___ the loan.
Write off a debt means accept that it will not be paid back.
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2Choose the right sentence.
The pronoun goes between write and off.
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3After the crash, the mechanic said, “The car’s a write-off.” What does this mean?
A write-off is a vehicle too damaged to repair (UK).
More phrasal verbs with write
2 phrasal verbs start with write. Test yourself on all of them in a few minutes.
Write off FAQ
Questions people ask about write off.
What is a write-off?
A write-off is a vehicle too damaged to repair, or money that is lost for good. The car was a write-off after the flood.
What does write someone off mean?
It means decide that a person will fail or is not worth your time. Don’t write him off just because he is young.
What does tax write-off mean?
In US business, a tax write-off is a cost you can take away from your income, so you pay less tax.
Use write off in real conversations
In Slova you learn new words with picture cards, then use them when you talk about the things you love. A few minutes a day, at your level.