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• pen
  pen

  noun

  any of various instruments for writing or drawing with ink or a similar substance.
• pen-
  pen-

  variant of pene- before a vowel.
• Pen.
  Pen.

  abbreviation

  peninsula.
• P.E.N.
  P.E.N.

  abbreviation

  International Association of Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists, and Novelists.
• PEN
  PEN

  acronym

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

pen

¹ American  

[pen] / pɛn /

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. fountain pen.

5. ballpoint pen.

6. the pen as the instrument of writing or authorship.

   The pen is mightier than the sword.

7. a person's style or quality of writing.

   He writes with a witty, incisive pen.

8. a writer.

   I leave this story to abler pens.

9. the profession of writing.

   a master of the pen.

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

    an insulin pen with disposable needles.

11. Computers. stylus.

12. Ornithology.

    1. a quill.

    2. a pinfeather.

13. something resembling or suggesting a feather or quill.

14. Zoology. an internal, corneous or chitinous, feather-shaped structure in certain cephalopods, as the squid.

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verb (used with object)

penned, penning

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 American  

[pen] / pɛn /

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. playpen.

5. bull pen.

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

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verb (used with object)

penned, pent, penning

1. to confine in or as in a pen.

pen ³ American  

[pen] / pɛn /

noun

Slang.

1. penitentiary.

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pen ⁴ American  

[pen] / pɛn /

noun

1. a female swan.

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pen- ⁵ American  

1. variant of pene- before a vowel.

   penannular.

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Pen. ⁶ American  

Or pen.

abbreviation

1. peninsula.

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P.E.N. ⁷ American  

abbreviation

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

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pen ¹ British  

/ 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. 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

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verb

1. (tr) to write or compose

pen ² British  

/ 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

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verb

1. (tr) to enclose or keep in a pen

PEN ³ British  

/ pɛn /

acronym

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

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Pen. ⁴ British  

abbreviation

1. Peninsula

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pen ⁵ British  

/ pɛn /

noun

1. informal short for penitentiary

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pen ⁶ British  

/ pɛn /

noun

1. a female swan

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pen Idioms  

1. see slip of the lip (pen).

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Other Word Forms

• penner
  noun
• penlike
  adjective

Etymology

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

Explanation

A pen is an ink-filled tool that you use for writing or drawing. Doing a crossword puzzle with a pen shows a lot of self confidence, since you can't erase your answers. Pen is also a verb meaning "to write," especially when you're writing something of literary value: "She's my favorite writer — I can't wait for her to pen another novel!" Then there's the pen that you keep your pet donkey safely inside (you can also say you pen him in there), and inspired by this "livestock enclosure" meaning there's also the slang for "penitentiary" or "jail."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pen pen- Pen. P.E.N. PEN penned penning pent

He’s the pen behind 2005’s “Just the Girl” by the Click Five, which laid a mall-emo whine and reverb-heavy drums over The Wonders’ tried and true formula.

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026

Jeanne de Montagnac, 29, stood by her husband and two-year-old daughter, perched on his shoulders with a telephone number scribbled in biro pen on her arm.

From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026

To pen this statement takes what can only be summed up in one word: chutzpah.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

“But we are not looking for people to be pen pals, which seems to be what everybody wants to do. We need real help.”

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

Finally, while they watched, the judge with the marking pen wrote on one of the blue ribbons and attached it to the worm box.

From "All About Sam" by Lois Lowry

It is no longer only the artist that is put under contract but his pen- children, who are copyrighted by the middleman.

From Time Magazine Archive

Cross pen- and-pencil sets, records listened to twice and then abandoned, clothes that were too large, too small—that never seemed worth transporting to the increasingly cramped apartments he inhabited over the years.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri

And he called for pen- case and paper and wrote down what was graven on the first tablet.

From The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 06 by Sir Richard Francis Burton

Now he snatched the little missive up with a strangely impulsive ardour, and being quite alone, indulged himself in the pleasure of kissing the firm free pen- strokes with all the passion of a boy.

From God's Good Man by Marie Corelli

Two or three chroniclers of the day have left us pen- pictures of the French Canadians as they were before the English came.

From The Seigneurs of Old Canada : A Chronicle of New World Feudalism by William Bennett Munro

“For now we’re with Marine Le Pen. The party functions well. But then, if somebody else comes along, that’s possible,” said Julie Apricena, 26, who works for the Front.

From New York Times ● Mar. 10, 2018

It is thought the House do cool: Sir W. Coventry's being for him provoked Sir R. Howard, and his party: Court all for W. Pen. 17th.

From The Diary of Samuel Pepys by Richard Griffin, Baron Braybrooke

In the course of researching how South Asian writers circulated in literary London between the World Wars, I spent some time immersed in the Harry Ransom Center’s expansive P.E.N. archive.

From Time ● Apr. 6, 2016

President John Galsworthy, in which he cites a resolution recently passed by P.E.N. leadership:

From Time ● Apr. 6, 2016

A quick glance at the P.E.N. homepage today provides an immediate sense of the organization’s mission and objectives: subheadings include “Writers At Risk,” “Impunity in Honduras,” “Linguistic Rights and Education,” and “International Advocacy.”

From Time ● Apr. 6, 2016

P.E.N. congresses sometimes resemble a lunch-hour stampede of Hollywood extras in makeup.

From Time Magazine Archive

The Kulturbund in Vienna sends an emissary inviting him there also and, like Prague, the Vienna P.E.N.

From Gilbert Keith Chesterton by Maisie Ward

PEN says that it is difficult to assess how much of what writers are experiencing “reflects matters of business or taste.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

The article mentions antisemitism as one possible cause and quotes others who identify it directly, but PEN itself never adopts antisemitism as the central explanation for the pattern its reporting reveals.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

The writers' association PEN Berlin said Khatib's comments were protected by freedom of expression and that if Tuttle were to be sacked over them, it would cause "immense damage" to the festival.

From Barron's ● Feb. 26, 2026

According to PEN America, artists and performers across the country report a growing climate of self-censorship, with many avoiding political humor altogether.

From Salon ● Nov. 6, 2025

They held up their right hands and read the oath Nick had written out: From this day on and forever, I will never use the word PEN again.

From "Frindle" by Andrew Clements

Even worse, Zaslav torched multiple projects while reportedly calling in personal favors for celebrity friends like Nicholas Pileggi, who penned the script for WBD’s 2025 bomb The Alto Knights, at great expense to the studio.

From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2026

And in 2014, he penned a Bloomberg Businessweek essay coming out as gay, becoming the first Fortune 500 CEO to do so.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 29, 2026

In 2020, with Green attached to direct, the project underwent a reset, which included bringing in screenwriter Samy Burch, a future Oscar nominee for her already penned “May December” script.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

Parton penned many songs about all different aspects of her relationship with her devoted husband Carl Dean, who ran an asphalt paving business in Nashville.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

“If this is ‘am’ then these must be the ah sounds,” he motioned to the group of characters Chronicler had penned.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

That means writers penning all their own work—and people who acknowledge using chatbots for help—are trying to master something they never worried about before: how to sound human.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 6, 2026

She continued writing while working as a doctor specialising in brain disorders in Boston, Massachusetts, and her publishing career took off when she began penning psychological thrillers.

From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2026

By the time she had finished penning the propulsive tale, “I almost felt like I owed them an apology,” Arnott admits.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 3, 2026

He studied and wrote poetry in detention, penning his verses on cigarette boxes when he couldn't access paper.

From Barron's ● Feb. 16, 2026

Back on the ground, we stroll along the quays bordering the Seine, where so many writers walked for centuries before penning their masterpieces.

From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins

“There isn’t a lot of pent up inflationary pressure in the economy,” Macklem said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026

Aswan remembers taking her driving theory test: "I got so pent up about passing it first time that when I failed by a couple of points I've never tried to get it back."

From BBC ● Nov. 19, 2025

The result is a pent up demand that lures workers to come illegally.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2025

“Post-COVID, we got this big influx of revenge travel, where everyone’s so pent up indoors and they’re just like, ‘Get me out there,’ ” McElroy explains.

From Slate ● Oct. 27, 2024

The pent up horror, grief and humiliation of a lifetime—half a century—was being stripped from me.”

From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler

Related Words

• fountain pen
• marker
• stick