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View synonyms for pen

pen

1

[ pen ]

noun

  1. any of various instruments for writing or drawing with ink or a similar substance.
  2. a detachable metal penpoint, filled by dipping or with a quill; nib.
  3. such a penpoint with its penholder.
  4. the pen as the instrument of writing or authorship:

    The pen is mightier than the sword.

  5. a person's style or quality of writing:

    He writes with a witty, incisive pen.

  6. a writer:

    I leave this story to abler pens.

  7. the profession of writing:

    a master of the pen.

  8. a pen-shaped device having a cartridge filled with a drug or medication:

    an insulin pen with disposable needles.

  9. Computers. stylus ( def 3 ).
  10. Ornithology.
  11. something resembling or suggesting a feather or quill.
  12. Zoology. an internal, corneous or chitinous, feather-shaped structure in certain cephalopods, as the squid.


verb (used with object)

, penned, pen·ning.
  1. to write with or as with a pen; put down in writing:

    to pen an essay.

  2. to draw with or as with a pen:

    to pen a sketch.

pen

2

[ pen ]

noun

  1. a small enclosure for domestic animals.
  2. animals so enclosed:

    We have a pen of twenty sheep.

  3. an enclosure used for confinement or safekeeping:

    We have built several pens to hold our harvest of corn.

  4. a dock having a protective concrete structure overhead, used to service and repair submarines.

verb (used with object)

, penned or pent, pen·ning.
  1. to confine in or as in a pen.

pen

3

[ pen ]

pen

4

[ pen ]

noun

  1. a female swan.

pen-

5
  1. variant of pene- before a vowel:

    penannular.

Pen.

6
or pen.

abbreviation for

  1. peninsula.

P.E.N.

7

abbreviation for

  1. International Association of Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists, and Novelists.

PEN

1

/ pɛn /

acronym for

  1. International Association of Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists, and Novelists
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Pen.

2

abbreviation for

  1. Peninsula
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

pen

3

/ pɛn /

noun

  1. a female swan
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

pen

4

/ pɛn /

noun

  1. informal.
    short for penitentiary
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

pen

5

/ pɛn /

noun

  1. an enclosure in which domestic animals are kept

    sheep pen

  2. any place of confinement
  3. a dock for servicing submarines, esp one having a bombproof roof
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. tr to enclose or keep in a pen
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

pen

6

/ pɛn /

noun

  1. an implement for writing or drawing using ink, formerly consisting of a sharpened and split quill, and now of a metal nib attached to a holder See also ballpoint fountain pen
  2. the writing end of such an implement; nib
  3. style of writing
  4. the pen
    1. writing as an occupation
    2. the written word

      the pen is mightier than the sword

  5. the long horny internal shell of a squid
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. tr to write or compose
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Other Words From

  • pen·like adjective
  • pen·ner noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of pen1

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English penn(e), from Old French penne “pen, feather,” from Late Latin penna “pen,” from Latin penna, pinna “feather, wing”

Origin of pen2

First recorded before 1000; (noun) Middle English penne, Old English penn (in compounds); perhaps akin to pin; (verb) Middle English pennen, derivative of the noun

Origin of pen3

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85; shortened form

Origin of pen4

First recorded in 1540–50; origin uncertain
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Word History and Origins

Origin of pen1

C16: of unknown origin

Origin of pen2

Old English penn, perhaps related to pin

Origin of pen3

Old English pinne, from Late Latin penna (quill) pen, from Latin: feather
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Idioms and Phrases

see slip of the lip (pen) .
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Example Sentences

According to one Sir Keir ally: "The Treasury has had the pen and the meetings and the numbers, then No 10 gets involved for the political risk at the end."

From BBC

It was an old fashioned pen and paper reporting job.

From BBC

He won a MacArthur genius grant in the process and penned the book “A New Philosophy of Opera,” which detailed a thriving future for the changing genre.

There are also more than 158,000 people currently in federal prison, many for nonviolent drug offenses, all of whom are eligible to be freed by the stroke of a pen.

From Salon

A white paper penned by his lawyers and circulated over the long Thanksgiving weekend outlined the risks and the grave threats he faced.

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Related Words

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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