ghostwrite

verb ghost·write \ ˈgōs(t)-ˌrīt \

Updated on: 29 Mar 2018

Definition of ghostwrite

ghostwrote play \ˈgōs(t)-ˌrōt\; ghostwritten play \ˈgōs(t)-ˌri-tᵊn\

intransitive verb

: to write for and in the name of another

transitive verb

: to write (a speech, a book, etc.) for another who is the presumed or credited author

—

ghostwriter

noun

See ghostwrite defined for English-language learners

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Examples of ghostwrite in a Sentence

She was hired to ghostwrite the mayor's autobiography.

Recent Examples of ghostwrite from the Web

Inside Facebook, there are communications professionals dedicated to reviewing and ghostwriting his posts, and helping him craft and maintain this profile, which has more than 105 million followers.

— jessi hempel, WIRED, "The Irreversible Damage of Mark Zuckerberg’s Silence," 21 Mar. 2018
In April 1789, James Madison, a member of the House of Representatives and a trusted friend of George Washington, ghostwrote the new president’s opening message to Congress.

— susan dunn, New York Times, "James Madison’s Zigzag Path," 1 Nov. 2017
The beloved books have been ghostwritten by a series of authors and published under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene.

— lesley goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Nancy Drew' Reboot Being Redeveloped at NBC," 16 Oct. 2017
For the article was retracted not because the article was ghostwritten, but because the ghostwriter happened to fabricate a key anecdote.

— charles seife, Slate Magazine, "Big Pharma’s Attempt to Ghostwrite for Stat Ended Badly—but Not Badly Enough," 11 Sep. 2017
Many applicants ghostwrite their own recommendations at recommenders’ request, a practice schools try to discourage.

— WSJ, "New M.B.A. Admissions Request: Recommendations From Friends," 2 Aug. 2017
Jasmyn Lawson is probably ghostwriting your favorite GIFs.

— ashley velez, The Root, "Watch: Jasmyn Lawson Is Doing It for Black Girls at Giphy," 21 June 2017
Brooks also submitted a Navy performance evaluation in 2007 that was ghostwritten by GDMA, and provided the company Navy ship schedules and the billing information of competitors.

— julie watson, The Seattle Times, "Ex-Naval attache sentenced to 41 months in bribery case," 16 June 2017
Mac had often broached the idea to Niehaus of ghostwriting his autobiography, but Niehaus always brushed it aside, saying that no one would be interested.

— larry stone, The Seattle Times, "Enjoyable new book on legendary Mariners broadcaster Dave Niehaus is swung on, belted deep," 27 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ghostwrite.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of ghostwrite

back-formation from ghostwriter

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1927

in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

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GHOSTWRITE Defined for English Language Learners

ghostwrite

verb

Definition of ghostwrite for English Language Learners

: to write (something, such as a book) for someone else using that person's name

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ghostwrite

Definition of ghostwrite

ghostwriter

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ghostwrite

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ghostwriter

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