write off

To decide that someone or something has little value or no chance of success.

• Do not write her off yet.
• Everyone wrote off our team before we won the final.
• He had written the idea off as too expensive.

How to use it: write someone/something off as something (Critics wrote the young singer off as a failure.)

Similar words: dismiss, discount

Common phrases: write off someone, write off their chances

To stop expecting payment of money owed and record it as a loss.

• The bank wrote off his debt.
• They agreed to write off part of the unpaid bill.
• Will the charity ask lenders to write these loans off?

How to use it: write off something (The bank wrote off half of her debt.)

Similar words: cancel, forgive

Common phrases: write off a debt, write off unpaid loans

To record money spent as a business cost, often reducing the tax you pay.

• You can write off business expenses.
• He wrote off the hotel bill as a travel expense.
• Can we write this purchase off against our taxes?

How to use it: write something off as something (She wrote the train fare off as a business expense.)

Similar words: expense, deduct

Common phrases: write off travel costs, write off business expenses

To decide that something damaged would cost too much to repair and treat it as a complete loss.

• The crash wrote off my car.
• The insurance company has written off the damaged van.
• Will they write it off or pay for repairs?

How to use it: write something off (The insurer wrote our van off after the accident.)

Similar words: total

Common phrases: write off a car, write off a vehicle

To officially record that something owned by a business has no remaining value.

• We wrote off the old equipment.
• The accountant wrote off stock that could no longer be sold.
• Should we write this asset off completely?

How to use it: write off something (The company wrote off its obsolete equipment.)

Common phrases: write off an asset, write off obsolete stock

To record a cost as something loses value over time, without spending money at that moment.

• We write off depreciation every year.
• The firm wrote off part of the machine’s cost through depreciation.
• How much will you write off for amortization this year?

How to use it: write off something over a period (We write off the equipment cost over five years.)

Similar words: depreciate, amortize

Common phrases: write off depreciation, write off annual amortization