Charging an asset amount to expense or loss, such as through the use of depreciation and amortization of assets. Bloomberg Financial Dictionary
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write-off ˈwrite-off also writeoff noun
1. [countable, uncountable] an official agreement stating that someone does not have to pay a debt:
• The 20% write-off of Argentinian debt had been expected.
2. [countable, uncountable] ACCOUNTING when all or part of the value of an asset as shown in a company's accounts is reduced:
• a write-off of obsolete or redundant stock
3. [countable] INSURANCE a vehicle that an insurance company decides has been so badly damaged that it is not worth repairing
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write-off UK US /ˈraɪtɒf/ noun [C]
► FINANCE, ACCOUNTING an amount of money that has been lost, for example, from a bad investment or a debt that will never be paid, shown as a loss in a company's accounts: asset/bad-debt/goodwill write-offs »
The credit card company projected that bad-debt write-offs would be $4.9 billion.
»charitable/tax write-offs
► UK INSURANCE a vehicle that is too damaged to repair: »
Her car is a complete write-off.
Financial and business terms. 2012.