Etymology

Deverbal from write inCategory:English deverbals#WRITEIN. So called because anybody wishing to vote for such a candidate must explicitly write the candidate's name on the ballot.

Noun

write-in (plural write-ins)Category:English lemmas#WRITEINCategory:English nouns#WRITEINCategory:English countable nouns#WRITEINCategory:English multiword terms#WRITEINCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#WRITEINCategory:Pages with entries#WRITE-INCategory:Pages with 1 entry#WRITE-IN (often attributive)

1. (politicsCategory:en:Politics#WRITEIN) A candidate whose name is not listed on the ballot.
   • 2019 February 19, Jeremy Pelzer, “Youngstown School Board member Dario Hunter seeks Green Party presidential nomination”, in cleveland.com‎, archived from the original on 16 April 2019:

     He won a write-in campaign for Youngstown school board in 2015; he joined the Green Party last year.

     Category:English terms with quotations#WRITEIN

2. (politicsCategory:en:Politics#WRITEIN) A vote made for a candidate of this kind.
3. A social event for authors, at which they meet up to work on their writing together.
   • 2015 February 19, Roy Baldwin, Mauveine, Creative Gateway:

     NaNoWriMo also provides free resources and curriculum globally to over 80,000 students and educators in 2,000 classrooms. In addition a host of volunteers provide write-ins and events in 500 regions.

     Category:English terms with quotations#WRITEIN

   • 2017 August 13, HowExpert, Nicole Thomas, NaNoWriMo 101: A Quick Guide on How to Write a Novel in 30 Days During National Novel Writing Mont, HowExpert, →ISBN, page 22:

     If you have come to a point where you just don't know where to go next in the story, going to a write-in can be a huge help.

     Category:English terms with quotations#WRITEIN

   • 2020 March 6, Joanna Penn, Audio For Authors: Audiobooks, Podcasting, And Voice Technologies, The Creative Penn, →ISBN:

     I do not think podcasting helps sell books, except for perhaps some of my non-fiction, but that boost is very slight. It does direct listeners to my author services (retreats and weekly write-ins), so in that way, I see some profit from it.

     Category:English terms with quotations#WRITEIN

4. (crosswordingCategory:en:Crosswording#WRITEIN, derogatoryCategory:English derogatory terms#WRITEIN) A clue or puzzle that is so easy that the answer is immediately obvious.
   • 2019 July 9, PeterO, “Guardian Cryptic 27,868 by Pasquale”, in Fifteensquared‎:

     Normally, when the first clue is a write-in, I think I am in for an easy time, but not here: there is enough misdirection to keep most of us on our toes, and the bottom half remained nearly empty for far too long.

     Category:English terms with quotations#WRITEIN

   • 2024 November 13, “i Cryptic Crossword 4297 by Tees”, in idothei‎:

     Elsewhere there was a capital that crops up every now and then and which I never remember, and much that will have been a write-in for regular solvers.

     Category:English terms with quotations#WRITEIN

Anagrams

• inwrite