write off
SeparableThe object can go before or after the particle — but a pronoun MUST go in the middle: “clean it up”, never “clean up it”.
How to say it
Stress the particle, not the verb: write OFF. Saying “WRITE off” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.
The /t/ flaps. Between vowels, American /t/ and /d/ both become a quick tap, so “write off” comes out as “wri-doff” — closer to a fast D than a T. Drop a pronoun in the middle and it flaps twice: “write it off” → “wri-di-doff”.
Verb vs noun
As a noun the stress flips to the front: the verb is write OFF, the noun is WRITE-OFF. Same two words, different beat — “to write OFF” is the action, “a write-off” is the thing. Getting this backwards makes the sentence land oddly even when every sound is right.
2 meanings
- 1
To dismiss someone or something as worthless.
- “Don't write him off — he's better than the numbers suggest.”
- “The critics wrote the album off too quickly.”
Similar: dismiss, discount
- 2
To cancel a debt, or to declare a vehicle a total loss.
- “The bank wrote off the remaining balance.”
Similar: cancel