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
-
am pencillingprogressive
-
are pencilingprogressive
-
are pencillingprogressive
-
is pencilingprogressive
-
is pencillingprogressive
-
have been pencilingperfect progressive
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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 uptick in home buyers started during the pandemic, when low interest rates drew capital into the residential market, driving up prices and helping renovation projects pencil out.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
In one, while high up on the mountain, he apologises to his mother for switching from pen to pencil because "the ink has begun to freeze".
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 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
I really pared back technology in my class, and we’ve pivoted back to paper and pencil.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
Jonah pressed his pencil down too hard on the sapiens part of homo sapiens, and the lead snapped.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Plus an assortment of quirky items including Pringles cans, Swatch watches, museum neckties and golf-course pencils.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 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
Well, that is when dividend investors need to download the 10-K and sharpen their pencils.
From Barron's ● May 8, 2026
They could make little fondant pencils, and maybe even some fondant apples, with little worms poking out.
From "From the Desk of Zoe Washington" by Janae Marks
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
And he’s penciled in to pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
Nine of 18 meeting participants penciled in at least one rate increase by December; none had done so in March.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
Further advances of 25% and 23.7% are penciled in for the final six months of the year.
From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026
Even though I did not have the schedule, I knew what time Papa had penciled in for bed.
From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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
Myles Lewis-Skelly, who was pencilled in to start in midfield, was moved to left-back and Saka, who is building up his fitness after a hip issue, was brought into the number 10 role.
From BBC ● Feb. 16, 2026
Before Ilia Topuria decided to take a hiatus, Pimblett was pencilled in to fight Charles Oliveira next.
From BBC ● Jan. 25, 2026
The Fed currently has one cut pencilled in, and will update this forecast next week.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 6, 2025
At the bottom of the last page he saw pencilled in a faint set of letters and figures.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
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
Though this list isn’t exhaustive by any means, and not all dates have been announced, there’s plenty to start penciling into your calendar.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 2, 2026
Economists remain divided on the BOK’s policy path, with some still penciling in a rate cut in the first quarter of 2026 and others maintaining that the current easing cycle may have already ended.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 27, 2025
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
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
Most analysts expect further cuts in the RRR this year, with some also pencilling in modest cuts in policy rates if activity continues to cool.
From Reuters ● Jan. 12, 2022
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
Beneath, the great beauty lies in the delicate pencilling of the hind wing with pearly greys and browns, and contrasted with this, the warm roseate blush and aurora tint on the upper wing.
From British Butterfiles Figures and Descriptions of Every Native Species by W. S. (William Stephen) Coleman
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.
