ballpoint

American  

[bawl-point] / bɔlˈpɔɪnt /

noun

ballpoints plural

1. a pen that writes using a small ball that picks up ink from inside the pen and transfers it to the surface.

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ballpoint British  

/ ˈbɔːlˌpɔɪnt /

noun

1. Also called (Brit): Biro.  a pen having a small ball bearing as a writing point

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• ballpoints
  plural

Explanation

A ballpoint is a type of pen with a tiny metal ball at its very tip. When you write with a ballpoint, the ball rolls, spreading ink onto the paper. The most common kind of writing pen is the ballpoint or ballpoint pen. When ballpoints were first developed around the turn of the 20th century, they gradually replaced fountain pens, which actually had to be dipped in ink. Not only were ballpoints easier and cleaner, they were also less expensive. The word ballpoint, also spelled ball-point, was first recorded in 1946.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ballpoint ballpoints

Chow, a lawyer who is representing herself, smiled at supporters who waved enthusiastically from the public gallery as the hearing began, while Lee sat quietly in the dock taking notes with a ballpoint pen.

From Barron's ● May 18, 2026

He took a year out to apply to study law, during which he worked as a dustman, on a kibbutz and as a ballpoint pen salesman in South Africa.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2025

He called her every day and kept a diary, sketching rap lyrics and poems in blue ballpoint pen.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2025

It has tweezers, whatever backgrounds I’m working with and cutting tools that are usually ballpoint pens that have run out of ink.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 28, 2025

She grabbed her pad and a ballpoint, walked in, and sat where Mr. Larson had been.

From "The Landry News" by Andrew Clements

In its 94 years, Fahrney’s has outlasted the advent of mass-produced ballpoints, the rise of email and text messages, and a pandemic that decimated newer downtown businesses all around it.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 14, 2023

Fancy pens or pencils are great, but we have plenty of standard ballpoints in the supply closet.

From Slate ● Apr. 29, 2019

But with the exception of my own handicap, I'm fine with the rest of the pen universe: your gels, your felt tips, your ballpoints.

From Salon ● Dec. 1, 2018

But many younger customers don’t even bother with ballpoints.

From New York Times ● Apr. 6, 2018

He trades in fountain pens for ballpoints, Wilkinson blades and his boar- bristled shaving brush for Bic razors bought six to a pack.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri