blue-pencil
[ bloo-pen-suhl ]
/ ˈbluˈpɛn səl /
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verb (used with object), blue-pen·ciled, blue-pen·cil·ing or (especially British) blue-pen·cilled, blue-pen·cil·ling.
to alter, abridge, or cancel with or as with a pencil that has blue lead, as in editing a manuscript.
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Origin of blue-pencil
First recorded in 1885–90
Words nearby blue-pencil
Blue Nile, blue norther, bluenose, blue note, blue-on-blue, blue-pencil, blue peter, blue phlox, blue pike, blue pill, blue plate
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for blue-pencil
British Dictionary definitions for blue-pencil
blue pencil
noun
deletion, alteration, or censorship of the contents of a book or other work
verb blue-pencil -cils, -cilling or -cilled or US -cils, -ciling or -ciled
(tr) to alter or delete parts of (a book, film, etc), esp to censor
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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