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.

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• ballpoint pens
  plural

Etymology

Origin of ballpoint pen

First recorded in 1945–50; ball ¹ + point

Example Sentences

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 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

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

As for Percy, he held his magic ballpoint pen like he was trying to decide whether to bust out some sword moves or autograph Nike’s chariot.

From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan