any of various instruments for writing or drawing with ink or a similar substance.
a detachable metal penpoint, filled by dipping or with a quill; nib.
such a penpoint with its penholder.
the pen as the instrument of writing or authorship.
The pen is mightier than the sword.
a person's style or quality of writing.
He writes with a witty, incisive pen.
a writer.
I leave this story to abler pens.
the profession of writing.
a master of the pen.
a pen-shaped device having a cartridge filled with a drug or medication.
an insulin pen with disposable needles.
Computers. stylus.
Ornithology.
a quill.
a pinfeather.
something resembling or suggesting a feather or quill.
Zoology. an internal, corneous or chitinous, feather-shaped structure in certain cephalopods, as the squid.
to write with or as with a pen; put down in writing.
to pen an essay.
to draw with or as with a pen.
to pen a sketch.
a small enclosure for domestic animals.
animals so enclosed.
We have a pen of twenty sheep.
an enclosure used for confinement or safekeeping.
We have built several pens to hold our harvest of corn.
a dock having a protective concrete structure overhead, used to service and repair submarines.
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
the writing end of such an implement; nib
style of writing
writing as an occupation
the written word
the pen is mightier than the sword
the long horny internal shell of a squid
an enclosure in which domestic animals are kept
sheep pen
any place of confinement
a dock for servicing submarines, esp one having a bombproof roof
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”
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
An Americanism dating back to 1880–85; shortened form
First recorded in 1540–50; origin uncertain
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."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
We also want to get an auto pen so we can write handwritten cards for guests because it’s kind of hard to write perfect handwriting in different languages and in cursive.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
One postcard dated in 1967 included an apology that the author had "started to write in pencil but Tony pinched my pen".
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
Maria met the scammer impersonating Prince Hamdan bin Mohammed, also known by his pen name Fazza, on a dating site before the conversation moved to a messaging app where he bombarded her with romantic messages.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
“I’ve got a pen, and I’ve got a phone,” Mr. Obama said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
Glory was holding her purple gel pen and a small notepad.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
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
Pity pen- or pencil-nibblers Labelled as 'distinguished scribblers'!
From The Motley Muse (Rhymes for the Times) by Graham, Harry
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 Corelli, Marie
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 Burton, Richard Francis, Sir
“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 Braybrooke, Richard Griffin, Baron
But during the early years of the organization, political activism in the name of P.E.N. was actively discouraged by early leaders.
From Time ● Apr. 6, 2016
At its founding, P.E.N. identified as an informal “dinner-club” where, according to an early statement on membership criteria, “well-known writers of both sexes can meet,” and where “visitors from abroad can hope to find them.”
From Time ● Apr. 6, 2016
Given this emphasis on the social, it follows that the earliest materials in the P.E.N. archive strongly feature food, drink, and dance.
From Time ● Apr. 6, 2016
Futurist Marshall McLuhan, who has written books such as Understanding Media to explain that books are extinct, used the medium of his mouth at the International 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 Ward, Maisie
PEN America describes itself as “the only national organization that both celebrates and defends creative expression.”
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
In 2024, the translated English compilation of Mushtaq's five short story collections published between 1990 and 2012 - Haseena and Other Stories - won the PEN Translation Prize.
From BBC ● May 20, 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
That musical’s writer, Lin-Manuel Miranda, penned the songs for the 2016 film alongside Opetaia Foaʻi and Mark Mancina; dutifully reprised here, they remain basically persuasive works of Disney pop.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
But the film’s screenplay — a biting, laugh-a-minute wonder penned by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack — shrewdly plays with genre conventions and audience expectations, illuminating more depth with every other sentence.
From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026
This English philosopher, a former resident of the town, is seen by scholars as one of the US Founding Fathers on account of a pamphlet he penned in 1776 that argued for the cause.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
To cope with her ambivalence, she penned a hazy, lovelorn track named “Abandoname.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
She had not been allowed to tend it properly penned up in this cell, but even unwashed and tangled it shone where the sun touched it.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
Pochettino’s faith in the power of fruit and candles and his penchant for penning aphorisms hasn’t taken away from the ferociousness of his approach to soccer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 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
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
She started at the Journal covering the New York City restaurant industry, later penning a metro column for a year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 10, 2026
There seemed to be nothing penning them in.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
“There isn’t a lot of pent up inflationary pressure in the economy,” Macklem said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026
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
Toxic energy and animosity get pent up, and carried out into the yard.
From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2025
Jefferson played with the ferocity of nearly two years of pent up football frustration.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 6, 2024
The pent waters spread out into a long oval lake, pale Nen Hithoel, fenced by steep grey hills whose sides were clad with trees, but their heads were bare, cold-gleaming in the sunlight.
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
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.
