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mechanical pencil

American  

noun

mechanical pencils plural
  1. a pencil for holding lead that can be extended by mechanical means.


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Noun Inflected Forms

Example Sentences

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With the width of a thin mechanical pencil lead and the length of a sewing pin, it’s easy to see how this tiny, thread-like snippet of an invertebrate has gone unnoticed — until now.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 13, 2023

The video equipment has improved, but even now researchers often take waterproof notes by writing on pieces of PVC pipe with a mechanical pencil.

From Science Magazine • Aug. 24, 2022

I was drumming my mechanical pencil on the table for five minutes straight, stumped on this one problem, and barely had the stamina to continue.

From Scientific American • Jul. 28, 2021

He slipped on his $5 spectacles and twisted out the lead from a yellow Paper Mate mechanical pencil.

From Washington Post • Oct. 18, 2015

A bright green mechanical pencil with a nubby pink eraser at the end.

From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser

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