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

Trump has vowed to spend his second term pursuing his political enemies, including Schiff, whom he has variously described as a “liar,” “traitor,” “shifty,” “evil,” “pencil neck” and one of the country’s “enemies from within.”

From Los Angeles Times

Most had settled along the defensive or offensive fronts, where Polynesian prospects were so often penciled in.

From Los Angeles Times

Inside his mouth and throat were two pencils, a toothbrush, a plastic cap and bars of soap, the report said.

From Los Angeles Times

The current minimum wage pencils out to about $33,000 a year, and the average cost of living is about $53,082 a year, according to recent federal data.

From Los Angeles Times

"I need to pick up food, books, stationery, pens, pencils... clothes in general and bags", she said.

From BBC

Related Words

• glimmer
• light
• radiation