crayon

[krey-on, -uhn]

noun

1. a pointed stick or pencil of colored clay, chalk, wax, etc., used for drawing or coloring.

2. a drawing in crayons.

verb (used with object)

1. to draw or color with a crayon or crayons.

verb (used without object)

1. to make a drawing with crayons.

crayon

/ ˈkreɪən, -ɒn /

noun

1. a small stick or pencil of charcoal, wax, clay, or chalk mixed with coloured pigment

2. a drawing made with crayons

verb

1. to draw or colour with crayons

Other Word Forms

• crayonist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of crayon¹

1635–45; < French, equivalent to craie chalk (< Latin crēta clay, chalk) + -on noun suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of crayon¹

C17: from French, from craie, from Latin crēta chalk

Example Sentences

“You are smart and kind,” she wrote in pencil, the handwriting surrounded by crayon hearts.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

On the second track, “Bumpy,” what sounds like a sonic rendering of an exploding box of crayons leads to a throbbing pulse that could be a sentient computer’s ticking heart.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Beowulf packed up his sketch pad and pastel crayons; he was a talented artist and highly skilled at depicting each bird in all its beaked and feathered glory.

Read more on Literature

The suite is mostly through-composed, yet its harmonic palette invites creativity—“like a crayon box,” Mr. Ross told me.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

He jokes that he just adds more “crudely drawn crayon lines and mascara beard” to show his character aging throughout the course of the show.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• pastel