Longhand is the regular way of writing by hand, where you form each letter individually in cursive or print. When you write longhand, you spell out every word completely instead of using abbreviations or symbols.

Before computers and typewriters became common, people wrote many things in longhand: letters, stories, school assignments, and business documents. Many famous authors, including Charles Dickens and J.R.R. Tolkien, wrote their novels in longhand, carefully forming each sentence with a pen.

The word distinguishes regular writing from shorthand, a faster system that uses special symbols to represent words and sounds. Court reporters and secretaries once used shorthand to quickly capture what people said during meetings or trials. Today, many people type rather than write longhand, but writing by hand can sometimes help you remember things better and think more carefully about what you're saying.

When someone says they wrote something in longhand, they're emphasizing that they did it the old-fashioned way, with pen and paper. Some writers still prefer composing in longhand, finding that the slower pace helps them choose words more thoughtfully and craft stronger sentences.