pencil
Americannoun
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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.
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a stick of cosmetic coloring material for use on the eyebrows, eyelids, etc.
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anything shaped or used like a pencil, as a stick of medicated material.
a styptic pencil.
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a narrow set of lines, light rays, or the like, diverging from or converging to a point.
a pencil of sunlight.
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a slender, pointed piece of a substance used for marking.
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style or skill in drawing or delineation.
He favored the late products of the artist's pencil.
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Mathematics. the collection of lines, planes, or surfaces passing through a given point or set of points and satisfying a given equation or condition.
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Archaic. an artist's paintbrush, especially for fine work.
verb (used with object)
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to write, draw, mark, or color with, or as if with, a pencil.
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to use a pencil on.
verb phrase
noun
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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
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( as modifier )
a pencil drawing
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something similar in shape or function
a styptic pencil
an eyebrow pencil
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a narrow set of lines or rays, such as light rays, diverging from or converging to a point
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archaic an artist's fine paintbrush
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rare an artist's individual style or technique in drawing
verb
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to draw, colour, or write with a pencil
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to mark with a pencil
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to note, arrange, include, etc provisionally or tentatively
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has penciledperfect 3rd person singular
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have penciledperfect
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has pencilledperfect 3rd person singular
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have pencilledperfect
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are pencilingprogressive
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am pencillingprogressive 1st person singular
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am pencilingprogressive 1st person singular
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pencilssingular 3rd person
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are pencillingprogressive
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pencilingparticiple
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is pencillingprogressive 3rd person singular
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has been pencilingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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have been pencilingperfect progressive
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have been pencillingperfect progressive
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is pencilingprogressive 3rd person singular
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pencillingparticiple
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has been pencillingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
Past
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had penciledperfect
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had pencilledperfect
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had been pencilingperfect progressive
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had been pencillingperfect progressive
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was pencillingprogressive singular
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were pencilingprogressive plural
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pencilledsimple
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penciledparticiple
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were pencillingprogressive plural
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pencilledparticiple
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penciledsimple
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was pencilingprogressive singular
Future
Etymology
Origin of pencil
1350–1400; Middle English pencel < Middle French pincel ≪ Latin pēnicillus painter's brush or pencil, diminutive of pēniculus little tail. See penis, -cule 1
Explanation
If you want to write something you can easily erase, write it with a pencil (instead of with a pen). When you color in the bubbles on a standardized test, a #2 pencil is the way to go. Unlike pens, which use ink, pencils have a pointed cylinder of graphite that makes marks on paper. Most pencils are wood with a thin center of graphite, although mechanical pencils are made of metal or plastic and look more like pens. You might describe an artwork as a pencil drawing, or ask if you can pencil some notes in the margins of your friend's copy of "Moby Dick." When you "pencil something in," you mark it tentatively on your calendar, knowing you might have to erase it later if your plans change.
Vocabulary lists containing pencil
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.
Many of them bear the pencil marks of her annotations.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
The auction also features several of Monroe's personal make-up products, including lipsticks, blush and eyeliner pencil, which the auction company noted has continued to captivate people on TikTok hoping to recreate Monroe's look.
From BBC • Jun. 4, 2026
Writer Greg Stolze posted a while back about “some professor” who “put googly eyes on a pencil and waved it at his class saying ‘Hi!
From The Wall Street Journal • May 3, 2026
Tests showed that this pencil beam is both stable and highly detailed compared to similar beams.
From Science Daily • Apr. 28, 2026
Jonah pressed his pencil down too hard on the sapiens part of homo sapiens, and the lead snapped.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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.
