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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

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

In fact, Kim wrote essays under the pen name Su-wha, which translates to "conversation with trees".

From BBC ● 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

Dr. Cain went over and moved a few things on her desk until she found her pen, grabbed a small legal pad and settled into the big chair across from me.

From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell

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

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

This is the pen- and-ink sketch drawn from memory by Hogarth, long after Fielding's death, to serve as a frontispiece for Murphy's edition of his works.

From Fielding by Austin Dobson

He has a rather large pen- and language friend circle and through his efforts I received additional translations in 4 more artificial languages.

From Baron Pál Podmaniczky and the Norwegian Bible by Martinovitsné Kutas Ilona

“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

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. emerged during a moment of postwar optimism regarding the potential of human fellowship to overcome the contingencies of geopolitical power.

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

After the startled press made hurried inquiries, the world learned that the winner had turned out an impressive body of work, was in his 60s, revered by his countrymen and active in the P.E.N.

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

Yet even when the litmus test is stated openly, PEN can’t manage to be clear about what it has documented.

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

In a 2008 speech at the PEN Literary Gala, the late Nobel Prize-winning Black novelist Toni Morrison anticipated this new-old order in Donald Trump’s America.

From Salon ● May 31, 2026

In a joint statement on Monday, some 20 NGOs including Amnesty International and writers' rights group PEN America said the allegations against Tadjadit were "baseless" and called for his release.

From Barron's ● Nov. 11, 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

Dürrenmatt penned “The Visit” as a critique of Switzerland’s neutrality after World War II, which he saw as an abandonment of ethics driven by capitalism.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

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

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

The fence would branch toward the pond soon, so I’d be penned in, and the guards would catch me.

From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer

Here she comes again, penning a song for the 2005 movie “Transamerica” that would go on to receive an Academy Award nomination.

From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026

Prior to his TV career, Shalit was a senior film critic for Look Magazine, and continued to spend years penning columns in the New York Times, Ladies' Home Journal and TV Guide.

From BBC ● Jun. 13, 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

The earliest recorded contest took place at Chalds in around 700 bc, the poet Hesiod proudly penning a few lines in celebration of his winning a solo singing class there.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Australian migration agent Mark Welch said there was a pent up demand following Brexit, which was combined with those who weren't able to go because of Covid-19.

From BBC ● Dec. 27, 2025

Most everyone is pent up, ready to pop.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 27, 2025

And when Anisimova’s final return of serve flew wide, Sabalenka released all of the pent up tension by sinking to her knees and weeping onto the court.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 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

There was a hundred years of speech, pent up, bursting to erupt.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

Related Words

• fountain pen
• marker
• stick