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 WebPaul Kiel, Fortune, 11 May 2024
Those additional write-offs helped Mr. Trump avoid tax liability for his continuing entertainment riches, as well as his unpaid debt from the tower.
—Paul Kiel Eric Jason Martin Krish Seenivasan Steven Szczesniak, New York Times, 11 May 2024
That raises the potential of a write-off for part of that debt depending on how Wisconsin & Milwaukee Hotel's finances are restructured.
—Tom Daykin, Journal Sentinel, 11 Apr. 2024
One reason Gerstein recommends an extension this year: a bonus depreciation write-off used by many small businesses is set to decrease for 2023.
—Mae Anderson, Quartz, 28 Mar. 2024
The oil and gas industry enjoys nearly a dozen tax breaks, including incentives for domestic production and write-offs tied to foreign production.
—Lisa Friedman, New York Times, 15 Mar. 2024
Holiday Haunt and Acme v. Coyote, the company saved millions of dollars that would have went to completing and the marketing the movies, on top of collecting hefty tax write-offs.
—Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2024
As a result, vehicles suffering a collision may be more prone to a total write-off as the repair could cost more than its residual value.
—José Rodríguez Jr. / Jalopnik, Quartz, 13 Mar. 2024
The Hollywood Reporter first broke the news Nov. 10 that Warner Bros. intended to shelve Coyote vs. Acme for a tax write-off.
—James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Feb. 2024
Dan Walters, Orange County Register, 21 May 2024
The pharmaceutical companies that were involved in the development of the new formulation and did all the clinical testing, including Merck KGaA, are writing off those expenses as a donation and no fees were involved for the tech transfer to the local companies.
—Gabrielle Emanuel, NPR, 20 May 2024
Part of the trouble is that Galileo is such an eccentric figure, a renegade genius written off as a failure in his own time, but the score here is thoroughly generic, the choreography spins its wheels and the book skims the surface of the characters.
—Karen D'souza, The Mercury News, 17 May 2024
If done properly, the merger would have accounted for the fact that Mr. Trump had already written off the full cost of the tower’s construction with his worthlessness deduction.
—Paul Kiel Eric Jason Martin Krish Seenivasan Steven Szczesniak, New York Times, 11 May 2024
If done properly, the merger would have accounted for the fact that Trump had already written off the full cost of the tower’s construction with his worthlessness deduction.
—Paul Kiel, Fortune, 11 May 2024
In a heartland state that Joe Biden’s re-election campaign has all but written off, that’s not nothing.
—Phil Elliott, TIME, 2 May 2024
With a Melrose Place revival on the horizon, Jack Wagner isn’t writing off the idea of making an appearance on the drama.
—Jp Mangalindan, Peoplemag, 24 Apr. 2024
Most of this behavior was written off as Big John being affectionate with the kids.
—Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 23 Apr. 2024
Noun
Those additional write-offs helped Trump avoid tax liability for his continuing entertainment riches, as well as his unpaid debt from the tower.
—Paul Kiel, Fortune, 11 May 2024
Those additional write-offs helped Mr. Trump avoid tax liability for his continuing entertainment riches, as well as his unpaid debt from the tower.
—Paul Kiel Eric Jason Martin Krish Seenivasan Steven Szczesniak, New York Times, 11 May 2024
That raises the potential of a write-off for part of that debt depending on how Wisconsin & Milwaukee Hotel's finances are restructured.
—Tom Daykin, Journal Sentinel, 11 Apr. 2024
One reason Gerstein recommends an extension this year: a bonus depreciation write-off used by many small businesses is set to decrease for 2023.
—Mae Anderson, Quartz, 28 Mar. 2024
The oil and gas industry enjoys nearly a dozen tax breaks, including incentives for domestic production and write-offs tied to foreign production.
—Lisa Friedman, New York Times, 15 Mar. 2024
Holiday Haunt and Acme v. Coyote, the company saved millions of dollars that would have went to completing and the marketing the movies, on top of collecting hefty tax write-offs.
—Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2024
As a result, vehicles suffering a collision may be more prone to a total write-off as the repair could cost more than its residual value.
—José Rodríguez Jr. / Jalopnik, Quartz, 13 Mar. 2024
The Hollywood Reporter first broke the news Nov. 10 that Warner Bros. intended to shelve Coyote vs. Acme for a tax write-off.
—James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Feb. 2024
Verb
This year’s version is another rob-Peter-to-pay-Paul maneuver that would remove $8.8 billion in overpayments of state aid from previous years from the budget and treat it, in effect, as a off-the-books loan to be written off over five years.
—Dan Walters, Orange County Register, 21 May 2024
The pharmaceutical companies that were involved in the development of the new formulation and did all the clinical testing, including Merck KGaA, are writing off those expenses as a donation and no fees were involved for the tech transfer to the local companies.
—Gabrielle Emanuel, NPR, 20 May 2024
Part of the trouble is that Galileo is such an eccentric figure, a renegade genius written off as a failure in his own time, but the score here is thoroughly generic, the choreography spins its wheels and the book skims the surface of the characters.
—Karen D'souza, The Mercury News, 17 May 2024
If done properly, the merger would have accounted for the fact that Mr. Trump had already written off the full cost of the tower’s construction with his worthlessness deduction.
—Paul Kiel Eric Jason Martin Krish Seenivasan Steven Szczesniak, New York Times, 11 May 2024
If done properly, the merger would have accounted for the fact that Trump had already written off the full cost of the tower’s construction with his worthlessness deduction.
—Paul Kiel, Fortune, 11 May 2024
In a heartland state that Joe Biden’s re-election campaign has all but written off, that’s not nothing.
—Phil Elliott, TIME, 2 May 2024
With a Melrose Place revival on the horizon, Jack Wagner isn’t writing off the idea of making an appearance on the drama.
—Jp Mangalindan, Peoplemag, 24 Apr. 2024
Most of this behavior was written off as Big John being affectionate with the kids.
—Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 23 Apr. 2024
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.
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Cite this Entry
“Write-off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/write-off. Accessed 28 May. 2024.
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