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write down

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write something down

to make a note of something; to record something in writing. Please write this down. Please write down what I tell you.

See also: down, write

write down

1. Set down in writing, record, as in Please write down your new address and phone number. [Late 1500s]

2. Reduce in rank, value, or price, as in They've written down their assets. [Late 1800s]

3. Write in a simple or condescending style, as in These science texts are written down for high-school students. [Second half of 1800s]

See also: down, write

write down

v.

1. To set something down in writing: I wrote down all my thoughts in a journal. If you remember the address, write it down before you forget it again!

2. To reduce something in rank, value, or price: The store is writing down all obsolete inventory. When the tickets didn't sell, we wrote them down to half price.

3. To disparage something in writing. Used chiefly in the passive: The movie was written down in all the newspapers.

4. To write in a conspicuously simple or condescending style: The author wrote down to the unsophisticated audience.

See also: down, write