What does writeoff mean?
A writeoff is an amount that has been canceled or abandoned, most often for accounting reasons. A lender may write off an unpaid loan as a loss, while a business may record damaged goods, obsolete inventory, or a disputed tax expense as a write-off. In such cases, the transaction may be removed from the company’s accounts without implying that no money changed hands. The term also has a broader figurative meaning: a plan, project, campaign, or investment may be described as a write-off when it is abandoned after proving unsuccessful or unprofitable. This extension gives the word a useful negative force, presenting something as a definitive loss rather than merely a setback. The expression is usually written as write-off, though writeoff is also established. Write-offs are therefore common in financial and business discussion, while their figurative use often conveys finality, failure, or resignation.
nounAn amount, debt, expense, or asset that is canceled or treated as irrecoverable and removed from accounts; more broadly, the cancellation or abandonment of something considered hopeless or unprofitable.
- A debt, loan, tax expense, or asset that is canceled or treated as unrecoverable or no longer useful, often removing it from accounts.
- The cancellation or abandonment of a plan, project, or undertaking as hopeless or unprofitable.
- A total loss or failure, especially a business, investment, or venture that has been abandoned after failing.
"The startup took a complete write-off after its first product failed to find a market."
"The company claimed a large tax write-off for the damaged inventory."
"The candidate's campaign was a political write-off after the election results came in."
The plural is normally hyphenated when written in full.
"The company reported several write-offs during the financial year."
A write-off can erase a debt from the books without erasing a single penny from the borrower's bank balance.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of writeoff
Writeoff developed from the phrasal verb write off, combining write, from Old English wrītan, with off in the sense of removing or canceling something. The verb initially referred to canceling an entry or account, and the accounting sense subsequently extended to the figurative abandonment of plans, projects, and other undertakings. The English word write has cognates in other Germanic languages, including Old Norse ríta and Gothic writan.
Related word forms
How writeoff is actually used
The standard spelling is usually write-off, although writeoff is also accepted, especially in American business and tax usage. The term is formal in accounting and generally neutral or mildly negative in general contexts.