ballpoint pen

American  

[bawl-point pen] / ˈbɔlˌpɔɪnt ˈpɛn /

noun

• ballpoint pens
  plural

1. a pen in which the point is a fine ball bearing that rotates against a supply of semisolid ink in a cartridge, thus rolling the ink onto paper.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• ballpoint pens
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of ballpoint pen

First recorded in 1945–50; ball ¹ + point

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ballpoint pen

Neatly drawn in black ballpoint pen, the documents displayed what appeared to be official tables of production figures.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

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

Dahl, who was born in the Cardiff suburb of Llandaff, produced the sketches in black ballpoint pen for the book Boy, which was published in 1984.

From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2025

Mitchell has been drawing for as long as he can remember, but it was a high school classmate pointing out the permanent nature of a ballpoint pen that led to his aha moment.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 16, 2025

After choosing a nib Tillie said, "I hope in the future, Noah, that you will use a ballpoint pen only when you have to press hard to make multiple carbons."

From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg

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