- writing by hand rather than by typing or printing
- a person's characteristic writing style: that signature is in my handwriting
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
hand•writ•ing /ˈhændˌraɪtɪŋ/USA pronunciation
n. [uncountable]
hand•writ•ten /ˈhændˌrɪtən/USA pronunciation adj.: a handwritten letter.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- writing done with a pen or pencil in the hand.
- a style or manner of writing by hand.
- Idioms handwriting on the wall, [ usually: the + ~] a clear indication, esp. of failure or disaster:This latest defeat was the handwriting on the wall that the war was lost.
hand•writ•ten /ˈhændˌrɪtən/USA pronunciation adj.: a handwritten letter.
hand•writ•ing
(hand′rī′ting),USA pronunciation n.
- writing done with a pen or pencil in the hand;
script. - a style or manner of writing by hand, esp. that which characterizes a particular person;
penmanship:an eccentric handwriting. - a handwritten document;
manuscript. - Idioms handwriting on the wall, a premonition, portent, or clear indication, esp. of failure or disaster:The company had ignored the handwriting on the wall and was plunged into bankruptcy.
- 1375–1425; late Middle English hand writyng; see hand + writing
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
handwriting /ˈhændˌraɪtɪŋ/ n
'handwriting' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
amanuensis
- autograph
- backhand
- backhanded
- cacography
- calligraphy
- certify
- copperplate
- crabbed
- cramped
- cursive
- engross
- graphology
- hand
- italic
- legible
- longhand
- manuscript
- palaeography
- penman
- quirk
- readable
- running
- script
- shorthand
- spidery
- sprawl
- writing
- bibliotics
- bona fide
- chirography
- Choctaw
- compare
- court hand
- fair
- fist
- forge
- hand of writ
- handwrite
- hen tracks
- hieroglyphic
- holographic will
- identify
- illegible
- imitate
- Italian hand
- law-hand
- long s
- macrography
- micrographia