ghostwrite

American  

[gohst-rahyt] / ˈgoʊstˌraɪt /

verb (used with or without object)

ghostwrote, ghostwritten, ghostwriting

1. to write as a ghostwriter.

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ghostwrite British  

/ ˈɡəʊstˌraɪt /

verb

1. Often shortened to: ghost.  to write (an autobiographical or other article) on behalf of a person who is then credited as author

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Other Word Forms

• ghostwriter noun

Etymology

Origin of ghostwrite

First recorded in 1925–30; back formation from ghostwriter

Explanation

To ghostwrite something is to pen a book, speech, play, or any other work that will be published under someone else's name. A pop star might pay someone to ghostwrite his memoirs. When a screenwriter can't figure out the perfect ending for the movie she's working on, she might hire someone to ghostwrite the screenplay. The original screenwriter will get her name in the credits, while the ghostwriter will get a paycheck. Sometimes people who aren't skilled writers will employ an expert to ghostwrite something for them — like a celebrity who wants to see their name on the cover of a book but doesn't have time to do the actual writing.

Example Sentences

I was fine letting Gemini ghostwrite emails about insurance claims and refunds, but it didn’t feel right for messages to loved ones, even if the initial draft did sound like me.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 18, 2026

"I'm sure everybody aspires to be him. He's such a brilliant writer. It's very hard to ghostwrite a book and at some level never have it sound like it was written by somebody else."

From BBC • Jan. 9, 2023

Years ago, he used to ghostwrite punch lines and comic scenarios for a cartoonist, who published some of their creations, in The New Yorker.

From New York Times • Nov. 11, 2020

After moving to Paris, author Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette agrees to ghostwrite a semi-autobiographical novel for her husband.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 30, 2020

And she always told this funny story where she would say, Marty read the draft opinion and sort of hollered, Ruthie, did you write this for him, did you ghostwrite this thing?

From Slate • Sep. 21, 2020

Related Words

• conceive
• design
• devise
• form
• invent
• orchestrate
• pen
• produce
• set up
• write