Writ

//ɹɪt// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A written order, issued by a court, ordering someone to do (or stop doing) something. countable
  2. 2
    (law) a legal document issued by a court or judicial officer wordnet
  3. 3
    A document ordering that an election be conducted. Australia, Canada, New-Zealand, UK, countable
  4. 4
    An order issued by the House of Lords summoning peers to the Chamber. UK, countable
  5. 5
    Authority, power to enforce compliance. uncountable

    "We can't let them take advantage of the fact that there are so many areas of the world where no one's writ runs."

Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    That which is written; writing. archaic, countable, uncountable

    "Then to his hands that writ he did betake, / Which he disclosing, red thus, as the paper spake."

Verb
  1. 1
    simple past of write dated, dialectal, form-of, past

    "I know the hand, in faith tis a faire hand, And whiter then the paper it writ on, Is the faire hand that writ."

  2. 2
    past participle of write up dated, dialectal, form-of, participle, past

    "I know the hand, in faith tis a faire hand, And whiter then the paper it writ on, Is the faire hand that writ."

Synonyms

All synonyms
bench warrantblankcapiascaveatchirographclaim form

Example

More examples

"My book became the Holy writ for all those engineers."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English writ, from Old English writ and ġewrit (“writing”), from Proto-Germanic *writą (“fissure, writing”), from Proto-Indo-European *wrey-, *wrī- (“to scratch, carve, ingrave”). Cognate with Scots writ (“writ, writing, handwriting”), Icelandic rit (“writing, writ, literary work, publication”).

Etymology 2

From Middle English writ, write, from Old English write.

Related phrases

Holy Writdrop the writprerogative writproverbs should be writ in pairswrit largewrit of assistancewrit of attachmentwrit of executionwrit of habeas corpuswrit of inquirywrit of mandamuswrit of privilege

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.