in writing

prep_phrase

"in-writing" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“in writing” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a prep_phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - By means of a written message, as opposed to orally or through other means.

Corpus desk

Index EN-in-writing · in writing · English

in writing · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "I" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for in writing
PropertyValue
Headwordin writing
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechPrep_phrase
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “in writing” in English

in writingranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

in writing is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aprep_phrase. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "By means of a written message, as opposed to orally or through other means.".

No misspelling variants are generated for in writing in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct English form is in writing, spelled I-N- -W-R-I-T-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    By means of a written message, as opposed to orally or through other means.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how in writing appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. THE emigrant farmers beyond the Vaal River having communicated to me, in writing, through you, their desire to come to a favourable understanding with the British Government
  2. What a comfort and relief it is to the families of such people when they can make the change with an attitude like that of an elderly friend of ours, who expressed her feelings about it in writing. Here are some excerpts: […]

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "in writing"?
"in writing" is spelled I-N- -W-R-I-T-I-N-G.
What does "in writing" mean?
As a prep_phrase, "in writing" means: By means of a written message, as opposed to orally or through other means.
What language does "in writing" come from?
"in writing" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list