pencil
Americannoun
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pencils
plural
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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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pencils,
present (3rd person singular)
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penciled,
past participle, past
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pencilled,
past participle, past (especially British)
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penciling,
present participle
-
pencilling
present participle (especially British)
-
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
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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pencilsimple
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pencilssimple
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have penciledperfect
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have pencilledperfect
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has penciledperfect
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has pencilledperfect
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am pencilingprogressive
-
am pencillingprogressive
-
are pencilingprogressive
-
are pencillingprogressive
-
is pencilingprogressive
-
is pencillingprogressive
-
have been pencilingperfect progressive
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have been pencillingperfect progressive
-
has been pencilingperfect progressive
-
has been pencillingperfect progressive
Past
-
penciledsimple
-
pencilledsimple
-
had penciledperfect
-
had pencilledperfect
-
was pencilingprogressive
-
was pencillingprogressive
-
were pencilingprogressive
-
were pencillingprogressive
-
had been pencilingperfect progressive
-
had been pencillingperfect progressive
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.
See Examples For:
The froglets are about 5mm long, roughly the size of a pencil tip.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
Then he found a pencil and a sheet of paper and started writing.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
That could make it more challenging for projects to pencil out, at a time in which the U.S. housing market desperately needs more supply.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
The interesting twist is that Gapen and team not only think the Fed will hike in September, but now pencil in a second quarter-point hike in December.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
Father would stand at his vantage point on the platform almost on tiptoe with the joy of precision, holding his pocket watch and a pad and pencil.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
“When a court says pencils down, that’s supposed to mean pencils down.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
Similarly, many school supplies are produced overseas, like pencils and crayons, which are predominantly imported from Brazil, China, Mexico and India.
From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2026
Sharpen your No. 2 pencils for next week’s newsletter, because I’ll be leading Investing 101, Don’t Short Yourself style.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
Plus an assortment of quirky items including Pringles cans, Swatch watches, museum neckties and golf-course pencils.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
We receive pencils for our students and a satchel to carry our things.
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
A day earlier, Kashkari said he penciled in one more rate hike in 2026 and another one next year.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026
But in commentary shared with MarketWatch, Slok said out that the gap between tech analysts’ rosy cash-flow forecasts and the more modest numbers being penciled in for other sectors was looking suspiciously wide.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026
Right-hander Roki Sasaki is working back from a blister on his middle finger and is penciled in to return from the IL next week against the Padres.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
The vast majority of officials penciled in one more hike this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Compton returned to his Washington hotel and penciled out a budget of $300,000 to cover the next six months.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Fed officials also pencilled in another rate rise by the end of the year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
Economists had pencilled in an interest cut after the rate of inflation dropped to 3% in January.
From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2026
Spurs also thought they had a £60m deal to sign Nottingham Forest's gifted midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White, with a medical tentatively pencilled in.
From BBC ● Feb. 11, 2026
But given the slowdown in inflation, analysts at Capital Economics said they had now "pencilled in rate cuts towards the end of the year".
From Barron's ● Feb. 5, 2026
On it was pencilled the words: “Serves you right.”
From "Animal Farm: A Fairy Story" by George Orwell
Members of the wider policy committee signaled they aren’t afraid to raise interest rates to achieve that goal, penciling in at least one quarter-percentage-point hike by the end of 2026.
From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026
Eurozone GDP expanded just 0.1% in the first quarter of this year, with some economists penciling in a contraction in the April-June period.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
Wall Street analysts are already penciling in strong earnings growth — not just for large-cap companies, but for small-cap firms as well, FactSet data showed.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 9, 2026
In the meantime, below are 10 essential Latino performances we’ll be penciling into our schedule, listed in chronological order.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 7, 2025
“Mom, double Is in Halloween,” Lori said, erasing Mom’s writing and penciling in the changes.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
While expectations of a swift eurozone rate hike have been tempered somewhat, some are now pencilling one in for the ECB's June meeting.
From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 2026
More than 80% of companies have beaten so far and S&P500 companies are on course for annual profit growth of 2.6% for Q3 and pencilling in some 12% earnings expansion for 2024.
From Reuters ● Oct. 27, 2023
Anytime you get Rahm in California pencilling in a top 10 is just a given at this point.
From Golf Digest ● Feb. 12, 2020
He also said he was "pencilling in" three further increases next year, as interest rates returned gradually to "a normal level" of about 2.5%.
From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2017
The finest pieces were painted in simple blues, greens, reds, and faint purples, with black pencilling.
From Pottery, for Artists Craftsmen & Teachers by George J. Cox
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