This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
pencil
[ pen-suhl ]
/ ˈpɛn səl /
Save This Word!
This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
noun
verb (used with object), pen·ciled, pen·cil·ing or (especially British) pen·cilled, pen·cil·ling.
to write, draw, mark, or color with, or as if with, a pencil.
to use a pencil on.
Verb Phrases
pencil in, to schedule or list tentatively, as or as if by writing down in pencil rather than in ink: I'll pencil you in for ten o'clock.
QUIZ
GOOSES. GEESES. I WANT THIS QUIZ ON PLURAL NOUNS!
Test how much you really know about regular and irregular plural nouns with this quiz.
Question 1 of 9
Which of the following nouns has an irregular plural form?
Origin of pencil
OTHER WORDS FROM pencil
pen·cil·er; especially British, pen·cil·ler, nounpen·cil·like, adjectiveun·pen·ciled, adjectiveun·pen·cilled, adjectiveWords nearby pencil
pence, pencel, penchant, penché, Penchi, pencil, pencil beam, pencil box, pencil cedar, pencil crayon, pencil gate
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use pencil in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for pencil
pencil
/ (ˈpɛnsəl) /
noun
verb -cils, -cilling or -cilled or US -cils, -ciling or -ciled (tr)
Derived forms of pencil
penciller or US penciler, nounWord Origin for pencil
C14: from Old French pincel, from Latin pēnicillus painter's brush, from pēniculus a little tail, from pēnis tail
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
Other Idioms and Phrases with pencil
pencil
see put lead in one's pencil.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.