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
-
pencilling
present participle (especially British)
-
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
-
am pencillingprogressive
-
are pencilingprogressive
-
are pencillingprogressive
-
is pencilingprogressive
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is pencillingprogressive
-
have been pencilingperfect progressive
-
have been pencillingperfect progressive
-
has been pencilingperfect progressive
-
has been pencillingperfect progressive
Past
-
penciledsimple
-
pencilledsimple
-
had penciledperfect
-
had pencilledperfect
-
was pencilingprogressive
-
was pencillingprogressive
-
were pencilingprogressive
-
were pencillingprogressive
-
had been pencilingperfect progressive
-
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:
The froglets are about 5mm long, roughly the size of a pencil tip.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
Displayed alongside several of Ishioka’s original design drawings, the armor offers a fascinating look at how her ideas evolved from pencil on paper into something almost anatomical.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
At BGC’s dinner event, elegant women in bright-red pencil dresses handed out drinks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Then he found a pencil and a sheet of paper and started writing.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
It was about as long as her index finger, and slightly thinner than a pencil.
From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville
We did, however, register a website for our new school ventures, ProPublicaAcademy.com, and even designed some fun pencils to show our school spirit.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
“I think everyone is sharpening their pencils and wondering what is the impact of this going to be,” Brill said of the spike in yields since August.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026
Participants are provided with an art pack full of supplies like acrylics, pencils, watercolours and pastels with the condition that they create up to four pieces of artwork.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 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
Beowulf and Alexander stretched out on the rug next to each other, with paper, pencils, and watercolor paints nearby.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
A day earlier, Kashkari said he penciled in one more rate hike in 2026 and another one next year.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026
Fed officials penciled in at least one more increase this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
But in commentary shared with MarketWatch, Slok said out that the gap between tech analysts’ rosy cash-flow forecasts and the more modest numbers being penciled in for other sectors was looking suspiciously wide.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026
Right-hander Roki Sasaki is working back from a blister on his middle finger and is penciled in to return from the IL next week against the Padres.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
Hadn’t a message once come to the Beje under a stamp, penciled in the tiny square beneath?
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Fed officials also pencilled in another rate rise by the end of the year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
But given the slowdown in inflation, analysts at Capital Economics said they had now "pencilled in rate cuts towards the end of the year".
From Barron's ● Feb. 5, 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
The King's Speech has been pencilled in for May 12 or 13 next year, the BBC has been told, just days after elections across Britain on 7 May.
From BBC ● Dec. 17, 2025
On it was pencilled the words: “Serves you right.”
From "Animal Farm: A Fairy Story" by George Orwell
Now, he’s penciling in one rate hike this year.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 26, 2026
Eurozone GDP expanded just 0.1% in the first quarter of this year, with some economists penciling in a contraction in the April-June period.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
Fed policymakers had previously indicated in their September Summary of Economic Projections that they were penciling in rate cuts at both the October and December meetings.
From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 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
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
Officials have offered more vocal support in recent days to earlier action and we are pencilling in a September announcement, but it is clear that the Covid resurgence could delay it.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 19, 2021
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
It was these pines, as they shot above the lower wood, that produced that pencilling of single trees I had so often remarked from the valley.
From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 2 (of 25) by Robert Louis Stevenson
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