: 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
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
Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 15 Aug. 2025
The closure of Lime’s London base and a restructure of operations amounted to around £8M of the write-down.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 7 Aug. 2025
Alina Selyukh, NPR, 2 Sep. 2025
Promises mean nothing if they are not written down, and this is also a lesson in how not to negotiate from Isak’s agent; a six-year deal, effectively handing Newcastle the power over his prime years, with no break clause is what led to this.
—Harry De Cosemo, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for write-down
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Noun
Tapestry took an $855 million write-down on Kate Spade.
—Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 15 Aug. 2025
The closure of Lime’s London base and a restructure of operations amounted to around £8M of the write-down.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 7 Aug. 2025
Verb
In 2019, after massive layoffs and lost sales, the company shocked Wall Street by writing down the value of marquee brands Oscar Mayer and Kraft by $15 billion.
—Alina Selyukh, NPR, 2 Sep. 2025
Promises mean nothing if they are not written down, and this is also a lesson in how not to negotiate from Isak’s agent; a six-year deal, effectively handing Newcastle the power over his prime years, with no break clause is what led to this.
—Harry De Cosemo, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for write-down
Cite this Entry
“Write-down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/write-down. Accessed 5 Sep. 2025.
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
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