: a deliberate reduction in the book value of an asset (as to reflect the effect of obsolescence)
wrote down; written down; writing down; writes down
1
: to record in written form
2
a
: to depreciate, disparage, or injure by writing
b
: to reduce in status, rank, or value
especially
: to reduce the book value of
: to write so as to appeal to a lower level of taste, comprehension, or intelligence
Synonyms
Examples of write-down in a Sentence
Verb
a company forced to write down its assets
write down what you remember about that day
Recent Examples on the Web
Bastian Benrath, Fortune Europe, 4 Apr. 2024
The multibillion-dollar write-down marked the beginning of Mr. Lynch’s legal travails, which will culminate this month in another long and complex trial.
—Michael J. De La Merced, New York Times, 16 Mar. 2024
After the merger, creating AOL Time Warner, factors like the dot-com recession greatly affected the company, leading to a historic $100 billion write-down.
—Michaela Zee, Variety, 14 Mar. 2024
Most of the write-down ($700 million to $900 million) will stem from existing TV shows and movies that will be yanked from Paramount’s various digital and linear platforms and development projects that will be scrapped.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 28 Feb. 2024
Underlying attributable profit before the nickel write-down was almost the same as the opening half of last financial year at $6.6 billion, led by strong profits in iron ore and copper while group revenue was up 6% at $27.2 billion.
—Tim Treadgold, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2024
Procter & Gamble said on Tuesday a write-down of its Gillette business and lower price increases hampered its financial results.
—Alexander Coolidge, The Enquirer, 23 Jan. 2024
The company’s profit was dented by a large write-down in its space business, which Mr. Faury said Airbus was working to turn around.
—Liz Alderman, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2024
Holiday Haunt, which were abruptly pulled from WB's release schedule to take tax write-downs last year.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 13 Nov. 2023
Saira Mueller, CNN, 11 Apr. 2024
At the top of her note sheet as UCLA begins watching film, the sophomore point guard writes down her mission.
—Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 22 Mar. 2024
Free associate and write down a list — leave nothing out.
—Amy Dickinson, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024
The company did, however, incur a pre-tax loss of £214 million ($270 million), owing to write down in the value of its more recent Legolands in New York and South Korea, that opened during the pandemic and haven’t seen strong performance just yet.
—Prarthana Prakash, Fortune Europe, 25 Mar. 2024
Set everyone up with writing materials (little ones can draw or have an adult write down their ideas), set a timer for five to 15 minutes, and everybody writes until the timer dings.
—Alesandra Dubin, Parents, 21 Mar. 2024
Start by having each of you write down all the jobs the other does.
—Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 17 Mar. 2024
Free-associate and write down a list – leave nothing out.
—Amy Dickinson, The Mercury News, 15 Mar. 2024
Free associate and write down a list – leave nothing out.
—Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, 15 Mar. 2024
Noun
The bank’s internal controls hadn’t stopped the concentration of risk, and the resulting write-down as Benko’s conglomerate Signa entered bankruptcy wiped out half the lender’s annual profit.
—Bastian Benrath, Fortune Europe, 4 Apr. 2024
The multibillion-dollar write-down marked the beginning of Mr. Lynch’s legal travails, which will culminate this month in another long and complex trial.
—Michael J. De La Merced, New York Times, 16 Mar. 2024
After the merger, creating AOL Time Warner, factors like the dot-com recession greatly affected the company, leading to a historic $100 billion write-down.
—Michaela Zee, Variety, 14 Mar. 2024
Most of the write-down ($700 million to $900 million) will stem from existing TV shows and movies that will be yanked from Paramount’s various digital and linear platforms and development projects that will be scrapped.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 28 Feb. 2024
Underlying attributable profit before the nickel write-down was almost the same as the opening half of last financial year at $6.6 billion, led by strong profits in iron ore and copper while group revenue was up 6% at $27.2 billion.
—Tim Treadgold, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2024
Procter & Gamble said on Tuesday a write-down of its Gillette business and lower price increases hampered its financial results.
—Alexander Coolidge, The Enquirer, 23 Jan. 2024
The company’s profit was dented by a large write-down in its space business, which Mr. Faury said Airbus was working to turn around.
—Liz Alderman, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2024
Holiday Haunt, which were abruptly pulled from WB's release schedule to take tax write-downs last year.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 13 Nov. 2023
Verb
For Benjamin Teuber, who worked closely on the development of games with his father Klaus for over 10 years, the first step is writing down ideas for a new game.
—Saira Mueller, CNN, 11 Apr. 2024
At the top of her note sheet as UCLA begins watching film, the sophomore point guard writes down her mission.
—Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 22 Mar. 2024
Free associate and write down a list — leave nothing out.
—Amy Dickinson, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024
The company did, however, incur a pre-tax loss of £214 million ($270 million), owing to write down in the value of its more recent Legolands in New York and South Korea, that opened during the pandemic and haven’t seen strong performance just yet.
—Prarthana Prakash, Fortune Europe, 25 Mar. 2024
Set everyone up with writing materials (little ones can draw or have an adult write down their ideas), set a timer for five to 15 minutes, and everybody writes until the timer dings.
—Alesandra Dubin, Parents, 21 Mar. 2024
Start by having each of you write down all the jobs the other does.
—Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 17 Mar. 2024
Free-associate and write down a list – leave nothing out.
—Amy Dickinson, The Mercury News, 15 Mar. 2024
Free associate and write down a list – leave nothing out.
—Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, 15 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'write-down.' 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-down
Cite this Entry
“Write-down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/write-down. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
write down
transitive verb
wrote down; written down; writing down
: to reduce the book value of (an asset)
write down accounts receivable
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share