pencil
Americannoun
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pencils
plural
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a slender tube of wood, metal, plastic, etc., containing a core or strip of graphite, a solid coloring material, or the like, used for writing or drawing.
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a stick of cosmetic coloring material for use on the eyebrows, eyelids, etc.
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anything shaped or used like a pencil, as a stick of medicated material.
a styptic pencil.
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a narrow set of lines, light rays, or the like, diverging from or converging to a point.
a pencil of sunlight.
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a slender, pointed piece of a substance used for marking.
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style or skill in drawing or delineation.
He favored the late products of the artist's pencil.
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Mathematics. the collection of lines, planes, or surfaces passing through a given point or set of points and satisfying a given equation or condition.
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Archaic. an artist's paintbrush, especially for fine work.
verb (used with object)
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pencils,
present (3rd person singular)
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penciled,
past participle, past
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pencilled,
past participle, past (especially British)
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penciling,
present participle
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pencilling
present participle (especially British)
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to write, draw, mark, or color with, or as if with, a pencil.
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to use a pencil on.
verb phrase
noun
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a thin cylindrical instrument used for writing, drawing, etc, consisting of a rod of graphite or other marking substance, usually either encased in wood and sharpened or held in a mechanical metal device
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( as modifier )
a pencil drawing
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something similar in shape or function
a styptic pencil
an eyebrow pencil
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a narrow set of lines or rays, such as light rays, diverging from or converging to a point
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archaic an artist's fine paintbrush
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rare an artist's individual style or technique in drawing
verb
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to draw, colour, or write with a pencil
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to mark with a pencil
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to note, arrange, include, etc provisionally or tentatively
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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pencilsimple
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pencilssimple
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have penciledperfect
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have pencilledperfect
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has penciledperfect
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has pencilledperfect
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am pencilingprogressive
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am pencillingprogressive
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are pencilingprogressive
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are pencillingprogressive
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is pencilingprogressive
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is pencillingprogressive
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have been pencilingperfect progressive
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have been pencillingperfect progressive
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has been pencilingperfect progressive
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has been pencillingperfect progressive
Past
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penciledsimple
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pencilledsimple
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had penciledperfect
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had pencilledperfect
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was pencilingprogressive
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was pencillingprogressive
-
were pencilingprogressive
-
were pencillingprogressive
-
had been pencilingperfect progressive
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had been pencillingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of pencil
1350–1400; Middle English pencel < Middle French pincel ≪ Latin pēnicillus painter's brush or pencil, diminutive of pēniculus little tail. See penis, -cule 1
Explanation
If you want to write something you can easily erase, write it with a pencil (instead of with a pen). When you color in the bubbles on a standardized test, a #2 pencil is the way to go. Unlike pens, which use ink, pencils have a pointed cylinder of graphite that makes marks on paper. Most pencils are wood with a thin center of graphite, although mechanical pencils are made of metal or plastic and look more like pens. You might describe an artwork as a pencil drawing, or ask if you can pencil some notes in the margins of your friend's copy of "Moby Dick." When you "pencil something in," you mark it tentatively on your calendar, knowing you might have to erase it later if your plans change.
Vocabulary lists containing pencil
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But how would any of that pencil out with Dodger Stadium closed most of the year, and with gondola traffic chipping away at revenue from parking fees that start at a monstrous $40?
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
"What was these children's crime? Did they carry weapons? A pencil, a book, a notebook and a schoolbag. They had no weapons… They'd gone to learn," she says.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
Rather than pencil in the expected path for rates, he said, a central bank should explain how it will react to a changing economy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
The researchers believe the bees mixed dirt with saliva to construct each tiny nest, which measured less than the size of a pencil eraser.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 5, 2026
Marion dutifully removes a small paper and pencil from her skirt pocket.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
Sharpen your No. 2 pencils for next week’s newsletter, because I’ll be leading Investing 101, Don’t Short Yourself style.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
Similarly, many school supplies are produced overseas, like pencils and crayons, which are predominantly imported from Brazil, China, Mexico and India.
From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2026
He’s done the math — $82 a night for a queen bed, single occupancy; $89 for a king — and likes how it pencils out.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2026
Unfortunately, the other package has the colouring pencils, and I didn't get that one delivered yet.
From BBC ● May 13, 2026
I find my backup calculator in the outer pouch and pull out three sharp number 2 pencils.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
Though they probably will have only four starting spots to fill in the postseason — and Yamamoto, Skubal, Snell and Glasnow can be penciled in when healthy — Ohtani’s build-up adds an interesting wrinkle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
The 0.4-percentage-point drop in the index compared with a year earlier was steeper than that expected by economists, who had penciled in inflation of 3%, though gas prices remain elevated.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
And he’s penciled in to pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
Analysts currently have penciled in bottom-up earnings growth of more than 23%, according to FactSet analysts.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026
Conant, unhappy with his scientists’ inability to settle on a single separation process, penciled out a proposal to spend $870 million for four individual pilot plants.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
There are currently two reservoirs pencilled for completion in 2036 and the 2040s, and more set to be approved.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
Goldman Sachs estimate is $474 billion in 2030 while Morgan Stanley has $330 billion pencilled in, according to forecasts shared with investors that the Wall Street Journal reported.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 15, 2026
Beyond that, there's the spending plans the chancellor has pencilled in for future years.
From BBC ● Mar. 3, 2026
Danske’s Carsten Lonborg Madsen had pencilled in a revenue decline of between zero and minus 8% so the minus 5% to minus 13% range will necessitate a downgrade from him.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 4, 2026
On it was pencilled the words: “Serves you right.”
From "Animal Farm: A Fairy Story" by George Orwell
The Federal Reserve is only penciling in one potential interest-rate cut in 2026, citing uncertainty in the Middle East as a reason to go slow.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 26, 2026
“We’re not penciling in a recession or anything like that.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 14, 2026
The economic outlook has shifted considerably from earlier this year, with economists penciling in more growth and less inflation than previously expected.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2025
In the meantime, below are 10 essential Latino performances we’ll be penciling into our schedule, listed in chronological order.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 7, 2025
All day one Saturday the girls gave each other curly permanent waves and plucked out their eyebrows, penciling a thin arc over each eye.
From "Ceremony:" by Leslie Marmon Silko
While expectations of a swift eurozone rate hike have been tempered somewhat, some are now pencilling one in for the ECB's June meeting.
From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 2026
Many experts are pencilling in sharper declines ahead, depending on how long the conflict lasts.
From BBC ● Apr. 6, 2026
More than 80% of companies have beaten so far and S&P500 companies are on course for annual profit growth of 2.6% for Q3 and pencilling in some 12% earnings expansion for 2024.
From Reuters ● Oct. 27, 2023
These will help get that hole out of your head and let you start pencilling in a good score on the card.
From Golf Digest ● Feb. 7, 2018
If the flats are to lie in the other direction, the pencilling will be done as in Figure 169.
From Mechanical Drawing Self-Taught by Joshua Rose
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.
