handwritten
Britishadjective
Explanation
Something that's handwritten is written with a pen or a pencil — not typed or printed. A handwritten thank-you letter is a pleasant surprise these days. Formal documents are almost always typed or sent electronically, and not handwritten. It's increasingly common for letters, invitations, and birthday greetings to be sent this way as well — which makes handwritten notes and greetings all the more intimate and meaningful. If you send handwritten invitations to a party, you write each one out by hand.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She displayed images of the U.S. indictment, questioning evidence such as photographs of a redacted handwritten ledger showing payments.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026
We now know from court documents that the thief is alleged to have faked a handwritten note saying that particular item had been stolen in 1963.
From BBC • Apr. 28, 2026
She did not admit to using AI but claimed that the incorrect citations were a result of her handwritten notes from another matter.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026
If humans in Afghanistan couldn’t make informed decisions from loose maps, documents and handwritten memos, then AI agents can’t succeed in such an environment, either.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 4, 2026
The larger books on the desk are moving at a less steady pace as Marco goes back and forth between handwritten volumes, scrawling notes and calculations on loose sheets of paper.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.