Meaning & use
debt written off
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Meaning
phrasecountablebusinessfinance
a debt that is officially accepted as unlikely to be paid and removed from accounts
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a debt written off' or 'debts written off'. The plural is 'debts written off'.
Patterns
- a debt written off
- debts written off
- write off a debt
The bank reported a large debt written off last quarter.
After the customer disappeared, the company recorded the amount as a debt written off.
Too many debts written off can seriously damage a small business.
Word forms
| plural | debts written off |
|---|
Common combinations
- record a debt written off
- The accountant had to record a debt written off for the failed project.
- large debt written off
- The firm faced a large debt written off after the client went bankrupt.
- debt written off as uncollectible
- The invoice became a debt written off as uncollectible.
- total debts written off
- The report showed total debts written off of over a million dollars.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bad debt
- A more general term for any debt that is unlikely to be paid; 'debt written off' specifically emphasizes that it has been removed from the accounts.
- write-off
- A noun meaning the act of removing a debt or asset from accounts; 'debt written off' refers to the debt itself, not the action.
Word family
Commonly confused: debt written off or debt write-off?
debt written off vs debt write-off
This is a noun phrase meaning the act of writing off a debt, while 'debt written off' refers to the specific debt that has been written off.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'debt written off' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Debt written off' is a noun phrase, so it fits after 'had a large'. Option 3 uses the wrong form 'write off' instead of 'written off', and the other options have incorrect word order.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “debt written off”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.