pencil

[ pen-suhl ]

noun

1. a slender tube of wood, metal, plastic, etc., containing a core or strip of graphite, a solid coloring material, or the like, used for writing or drawing.
2. a stick of cosmetic coloring material for use on the eyebrows, eyelids, etc.
3. anything shaped or used like a pencil, as a stick of medicated material:

   a styptic pencil.

4. a narrow set of lines, light rays, or the like, diverging from or converging to a point:

   a pencil of sunlight.

5. a slender, pointed piece of a substance used for marking.
6. style or skill in drawing or delineation:

   He favored the late products of the artist's pencil.

7. Mathematics. the collection of lines, planes, or surfaces passing through a given point or set of points and satisfying a given equation or condition.
8. Archaic. an artist's paintbrush, especially for fine work.

verb (used with object)

, pen·ciled, pen·cil·ing or (especially British) pen·cilled, pen·cil·ling.

1. to write, draw, mark, or color with, or as if with, a pencil.
2. to use a pencil on.

verb phrase

1. to schedule or list tentatively, as or as if by writing down in pencil rather than in ink:

   I'll pencil you in for ten o'clock.

pencil

/ ˈpɛnsəl /

noun

1. 1. a thin cylindrical instrument used for writing, drawing, etc, consisting of a rod of graphite or other marking substance, usually either encased in wood and sharpened or held in a mechanical metal device
   2. ( as modifier )

      a pencil drawing

2. something similar in shape or function

   an eyebrow pencil

   a styptic pencil

3. a narrow set of lines or rays, such as light rays, diverging from or converging to a point
4. archaic.
   an artist's fine paintbrush
5. rare.
   an artist's individual style or technique in drawing

verb

1. to draw, colour, or write with a pencil
2. to mark with a pencil
3. pencil in
   to note, arrange, include, etc provisionally or tentatively

Derived Forms

• ˈpenciller, noun

Other Words From

• pencil·er especially British, pencil·ler noun
• pencil·like adjective
• un·penciled adjective
• un·pencilled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pencil¹

1350–1400; Middle English pencel < Middle French pincel ≪ Latin pēnicillus painter's brush or pencil, diminutive of pēniculus little tail. See penis, -cule ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of pencil¹

C14: from Old French pincel, from Latin pēnicillus painter's brush, from pēniculus a little tail, from pēnis tail

Idioms and Phrases

see put lead in one's pencil .

Example Sentences

Adam Schiff — “sleazebag,” “low life,” “little pencil neck,” to use some of the pungent ways Donald Trump describes him — is taking the high road, turning the other cheek and generally being the better man by ignoring all that and promising to do whatever he can to work and thrive in a MAGA-fied Washington, D.C.

From Los Angeles Times

As the lead prosecutor in the first impeachment trial of Trump in the House of Representatives, the Burbank Democrat — once mocked by the former president as a “little pencil neck” — used Trump’s vitriol to propel himself to national fame.

From Los Angeles Times

Items for repair include old toys and games, mechanical coin banks, hand-cranked coffee grinders — most restorers seem to have done one of those — locks, furniture, pinball machines, gumball machines, espresso makers, typewriters, pencil sharpeners, cash registers, leather goods, artworks, knives, guns, shoes and all sorts of gizmos and gadgets from the predigital age.

From Los Angeles Times

On three occasions, he said he was suicidal and talked about stabbing himself with a pencil.

From Los Angeles Times

Without naming names, the sheriff said that a detainee who had died after swallowing objects, including a pencil, had a “propensity to eat things.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• glimmer
• light
• radiation