From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishwrite off phrasal verb1 ASK FOR something/ASK somebody TO DO somethingto write a letter to a company or organization asking them to send you goods or information SYN send off, write away for Are you going to write off for that free poster?2 write somebody/something ↔ offSTOP DOING something to decide that someone or something is useless, unimportant, or a failure SYN dismisswrite somebody/something ↔ off as After six months of work, we eventually wrote the project off as a non-starter. → write-off3 write something ↔ offBFOWE to officially say that a debt no longer has to be paid, or officially accept that you cannot get back money you have spent or lost The United States agreed to write off debts worth billions of dollars. The Inland Revenue wrote off £900 million in unpaid taxes.4 write something ↔ off to make an official record of the amount of money that you have spent on things relating to your business, in order to reduce the amount of tax that you have to paywrite something ↔ off against The costs of setting up a business can be written off against tax.5 write something ↔ off British EnglishTTCDESTROY to damage a vehicle so badly that it can never be used again At thirteen he stole a car and wrote it off. → write-off → write→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
write off• We'll never see that money again so we might as well write it off.• A number of the company's debts were written off even before they went bankrupt.• She wrote her mother's car off the first time she drove it.• European governments were persuaded to write off the republic's largest debts.• I wrote off to Friends of the Earth and they sent me some leaflets.• Write off today for your free Batman poster!write for• If the answer is yes, ask your Guider to write off for more information.• I wrote off for some information about the college.• Volkov had been written off for the last five years.• Get your playgroup involved by writing off for the Playweek kit, which contains all kinds of money-making ideas.write as• She would have written me off as a time-wasting nut.• He had written her off as a useless, lying bimbo.• Manville knew then that Hayman had been right in writing him off as a washed-up veteran.• My friends have written me off as dead.• Kersey would have written him off as harmless had it not been for his extreme wariness.• At first, I wrote these off as isolated incidents.• The fickle music press was delighted, cheer fully writing Adam off as one more whose career was over.• Consider those possibilities before writing the problem off as resistance. write-offˈwrite-off noun [countable] 1 British EnglishTTCDESTROY a vehicle that has been so badly damaged that it can never be used again The car was a complete write-off.2 a period of time when you fail to achieve anything This morning was a complete write-off.3 BFOWEan official agreement that someone does not have to pay a debtExamples from the Corpus
write-off• Still dreaming of her grateful smile, he crashes his car and it is a write-off.• The building is still standing, though a complete write-off.• The car was a complete write-off - I was lucky I wasn't killed.• The House bill contains $ 7 billion in tax credits, including exemptions for employer-paid tuitions and more liberal equipment write-offs.• An extraordinary charge of £11.7 million covers the closure of businesses and goodwill write-offs.• Their profits are weakening thanks to tougher competition, loan write-offs and a rising cost of funds.• Silver said, referring to the write-off that the owners can claim because the car is a charitable donation.From Longman Business Dictionarywrite off phrasal verb [transitive]1 write somebody/something → off to decide that someone or something is useless, unimportant, or a failure asWe’ve written the project off as a non-starter.2 write something → offACCOUNTING to officially say that someone does not have to pay a debtAs part of the deal, all their debts were written off.3 write something →offACCOUNTING to reduce the value of an asset to nothing, for example in the case of a bad debt (=money you have lent but that will never be repaid)Businesses write off capital assets over a period of years.4 write something → off British EnglishINSURANCE if an insurance company writes off a vehicle, it decides that it has been damaged so badly that it is not worth repairingThe car has been written off, so they have to pay out for a new one. → see also write-off → write→ See Verb tablewrite-offˈwrite-off (also writeoff) noun1[countable, uncountable] an official agreement stating that someone does not have to pay a debtThe 20% write-off of Argentinian debt had been expected.2[countable, uncountable]ACCOUNTING when all or part of the value of an asset as shown in a company’s accounts is reduceda write-off of obsolete or redundant stock3[countable] British EnglishINSURANCE a vehicle that an insurance company decides has been so badly damaged that it is not worth repairing 