Real Dictionary

write off
phrasal verb: If someone writes off a debt or an amount of money that has been spent on a project, they accept that they are never going to get the money back.
phrasal verb: If someone writes off a vehicle, they have a crash in it and it is so badly damaged that it is not worth repairing.
phrasal verb: If you write off a plan or project, you accept that it is not going to be successful and do not continue with it.
phrasal verb: If you write off to a company or organization, you send them a letter, usually asking for something.
phrasal verb: If you write someone or something off, you decide that they are unimportant or useless and that they are not worth further serious attention.

write off in Accounting
verb: If you write off a bad debt or obsolete asset, you cancel it from the accounts.

write off in American English
to cancel an entry in an account, as an unpaid and uncollectable debt
to cancel or remove from accounts (bad debts, claims, etc.)

write off in British English
to cancel (a bad debt or obsolete asset) from the accounts
noun: the act of cancelling a bad debt or obsolete asset from the accounts

write off in Insurance
verb: If you write off a vehicle, you damage it so badly that it can never be used again, or you declare that this has happened.

write-off
countable noun: Something such as a vehicle that is a write-off has been so badly damaged in an accident that it is not worth repairing.

write-off in Accounting
noun: A write-off is an amount corresponding to the book value of the bad debt or obsolete asset that is canceled from an account against gross profits.

write-off in American English
something written off, amortized, etc.
noun: a cancellation from the accounts as a loss

write-off in British English
noun: a damaged vehicle that is not economically viable to repair

write-off in Insurance
noun: A write-off is a vehicle that has been so badly damaged that it can never be used again.