Meaning & use
co-writer
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Meanings
nouncountable
a person who writes a book, song, script, or other text together with another person.
Grammar: Countable noun: a co-writer, two co-writers. Often followed by of or on: co-writer of the song, co-writer on the project.
Patterns
- co-writer of something
- co-writer on something
- someone's co-writer
She is the co-writer of the hit song that topped the charts.
The director thanked his co-writer for helping shape the story.
As a co-writer on the project, he shared credit with three others.
nouncountableformal
a person who works with someone else to produce written material, especially in journalism, academia, or business.
Grammar: Used in professional contexts; can be followed by with: a co-writer with a colleague.
Patterns
- co-writer with someone
- co-writer for a publication
The professor worked as a co-writer with a research assistant.
They hired a co-writer to help finish the report on time.
Her co-writer for the magazine article was a well-known journalist.
Word forms
| plural | co-writers |
|---|
Common combinations
- co-writer of a song
- He is listed as a co-writer of the song.
- co-writer on a project
- She was a co-writer on the film script.
- co-writer with someone
- I acted as co-writer with my colleague on the textbook.
- co-writer credit
- Both received co-writer credit for the final draft.
Synonyms and how they differ
- collaborator
- A general word for someone you work with on any project; co-writer is specific to writing.
- coauthor
- A more formal synonym, especially for books or academic papers.
- writing partner
- A less formal phrase that emphasizes the working relationship rather than the shared credit.
Word family
- co-write verb
- To write something together with another person.
- co-written adjective
- Written by two or more people together.
- co-writing noun
- The activity of writing something with others.
Commonly confused: co-writer or cowriter? co-writer or copywriter?
co-writer vs cowriter
This spelling without a hyphen is sometimes used, but the standard form is co-writer.
co-writer vs copywriter
A copywriter writes advertising or marketing text; a co-writer writes with someone else. The words sound similar but mean different things.
Practice
Which sentence uses co-writer correctly?
Choose one answer.
The most natural pattern is co-writer of something. 'Co-writer for' can be used for a publication or organization, but not for a specific work like a musical. 'Co-writer with' and 'co-writer on' are possible in some contexts, but 'of' is the standard choice here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “co-writer”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.