writer

writ‧er S3 W2 /ˈraɪtə $ -ər/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[Word Family: noun: writer, writing, rewrite; verb: write, rewrite; adjective: written ≠ unwritten]
1. someone who writes books, stories etc, especially as a job ⇨ author, playwright:
She’s one of my favourite writers.
a science-fiction writer
writer on
a well-known writer on American music
writer of
a writer of children’s stories
2. someone who has written something or who writes in a particular way:
He’s always been a sloppy writer.
writer of
the writer of the previous message on this topic
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + writer
▪ a good/great writer She was a very good writer. | Dr Johnson was already a great writer at the age of thirty-five.
▪ a fiction/science-fiction/mystery writer The movie is based on a story by science-fiction writer Phillip K. Dick.
▪ a travel/history/sports etc writer (=someone who writes articles and books about a subject) This region of Europe does not excite many travel writers.
▪ a prolific writer (=someone who writes a lot of books etc) He was a prolific writer of everything from poems to essays.
▪ a freelance writer She now works as a freelance writer.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ writer someone who writes books, stories, or articles in as a job: Greene was one of the finest writers of his generation. | a writer for the Independent on Sunday magazine | I always wanted to be a writer.
▪ author someone who writes books, especially works of literature, or someone who wrote a particular book: Among the guests was the author Salman Rushdie. | The author will be signing copies of his book. | He was the author of ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’.
▪ novelist someone who writes books about imaginary people or events: Charles Dickens was one of the greatest 19th century novelists. | the romantic novelist Barbara Cartland
▪ poet someone who writes poems: a class studying the works of modern American poets
▪ playwright someone who writes plays: Shakespeare was the greatest playwright in English history.
▪ dramatist someone who writes plays - used especially in literary writing, about playwrights in the past: the great French dramatist, Moliere
▪ scriptwriter (also screenwriter) someone who writes plays for films or television: Three or four scriptwriters work on the show.
▪ blogger someone who regularly writes about a particular subject on their own website: a travel blogger | a blogger who writes about the differences between American and British English

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

writer

writer [writer writers] [ˈraɪtə(r)] [ˈraɪtər] noun
1. a person whose job is writing books, stories, articles, etc
• writers of poetry

• a travel/cookery, etc. writer

2. a person who has written a particular thing

• the writer of this letter

3. (with an adjective) a person who forms letters in a particular way when they are writing
• a messy writer
Word Origin:
Old English wrītere, of Germanic origin.
Example Bank:
• As one twelfth-century writer put it, English wine could be drunk only with closed eyes and through clenched teeth.
• He is a prominent writer on civil liberties.
• He's just released a new album after two years of writer's block.
• Is political culture, as some writers have suggested, in a state of collapse?
• She gives talks about being a black woman writer.
• The present writer has no experience in microbiology.
• The present writer= the person writing has no experience in microbiology.
• The writer drew on his own experience to write this script.
• Unlike many writers of the period, she is not preoccupied with morality.
• We have decided not to employ a writer in residence after June.
• a chance for aspiring writers to get their work published
• a freelance feature writer for Time
• a popular writer who has written over forty books
• a very prolific crime writer
• a writer of children's books
• a writer to the letters column
• early writers in sociology
• her career as a writer
• one of the best writers in journalism today
• one of the greatest writers of all time
• He joined the newspaper in 1923 as an editorial writer.
• a travel/science/cookery writer

• the writer of this letter/article/computer program

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

writer /ˈraɪ.təʳ/ US /-ţɚ/
noun [C]
a person who writes books or articles to be published:
a travel/sports/fiction/crime writer
She is a well-known writer of children's books.

Collins Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

writer

[ra͟ɪtə(r)]
♦♦
writers
1) N-COUNT: oft supp N A writer is a person who writes books, stories, or articles as a job.
  Turner is a writer and critic.
  ...detective stories by American writers.
  ...novelist and travel writer Paul Theroux.
  ...Frank Keating, this paper's respected sports writer.
2) N-COUNT: usu with supp The writer of a particular article, report, letter, or story is the person who wrote it.
  No-one is to see the document without the permission of the writer of the report...
  I can't agree with the letter writer who claims bringing back the death penalty would be an abuse of human rights.

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

writer

writ·er /ˈraɪtɚ/ noun, pl -ers [count]
1 : someone whose work is to write books, poems, stories, etc.
• She is my favorite French writer.
• He's a writer of horror stories.
• a course on 19th-century writers
• The magazine is looking for freelance writers.
2 : someone who has written something
• The writer of the best essay will win a prize.
• They identified the writer of the mysterious letter.