stencil
Americannoun
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a device for applying a pattern, design, words, etc., to a surface, consisting of a thin sheet of cardboard, metal, or other material from which figures or letters have been cut out, a coloring substance, ink, etc., being rubbed, brushed, or pressed over the sheet, passing through the perforations and onto the surface.
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the letters, designs, etc., produced on a surface by this method.
verb (used with object)
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to mark or paint (a surface) by means of a stencil.
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to produce (letters, figures, designs, etc.) by means of a stencil.
noun
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a device for applying a design, characters, etc, to a surface, consisting of a thin sheet of plastic, metal, cardboard, etc in which the design or characters have been cut so that ink or paint can be applied through the incisions onto the surface
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a decoration, design, or characters produced in this way
verb
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to mark (a surface) with a stencil
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to produce (characters or a design) with a stencil
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has stenciledperfect 3rd person singular
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has stencilledperfect 3rd person singular
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have stenciledperfect
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have stencilledperfect
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have been stencilingperfect progressive
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are stencilingprogressive
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have been stencillingperfect progressive
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am stencillingprogressive 1st person singular
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has been stencilingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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are stencillingprogressive
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stencilingparticiple
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is stencilingprogressive 3rd person singular
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is stencillingprogressive 3rd person singular
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stencilssingular 3rd person
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stencillingparticiple
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am stencilingprogressive 1st person singular
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has been stencillingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
Past
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had stenciledperfect
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had stencilledperfect
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had been stencilingperfect progressive
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were stencilingprogressive plural
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stencilledsimple
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had been stencillingperfect progressive
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stencilledparticiple
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stenciledparticiple
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was stencilingprogressive singular
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were stencillingprogressive plural
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stenciledsimple
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was stencillingprogressive singular
Future
Etymology
Origin of stencil
1375–1425; earlier stanesile, late Middle English stansele to ornament with diverse colors or spangles < Middle French estanceler, derivative of estencele a spark, ornamental spangle < Vulgar Latin *stincilla, metathetic variant of Latin scintilla scintilla
Explanation
A stencil is a stiff sheet of material with a design or image cut out of it. When you apply ink or paint to the stencil, the design is printed on the surface below. Number and letter stencils make it easier to paint your new boat's name on its hull or to put your address on your mailbox. Stencil can also be a verb. You might stencil glow-in-the-dark stars all over your bedroom ceiling. Stencil comes from the Middle English stencellen, "decorate with bright colors."
Vocabulary lists containing stencil
Merci Suárez Changes Gears
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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
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Visual Arts - Introductory
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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.
She also points to the city’s Stencil a Storm Drain kits as a great way to get children on your block thinking about the environment.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 26, 2022
Stencil was part of a carnival that played out Saturday when the museum reopened its famous dinosaur exhibit after a five-year-long, $110 million renovation.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 8, 2019
Mason and Dixon, the real-life 18th-century surveyors/astronomers, are British, as are both V. and Stencil, the expat in 1950s New York who is obsessed with her.
From The Guardian • May 8, 2017
“I just thought, there’s no reason it can’t work here,” Stencil said.
From Washington Times • Dec. 25, 2016
A painter in the Waterloo Road had the following announcement displayed on the front of his house: "The Acme of Stencil!"
From The Jest Book The Choicest Anecdotes and Sayings by Lemon, Mark
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.
