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• pen
  pen

  noun

  any of various instruments for writing or drawing with ink or a similar substance.
• pen-
  pen-

  variant of pene- before a vowel.
• Pen.
  Pen.

  abbreviation

  peninsula.
• P.E.N.
  P.E.N.

  abbreviation

  International Association of Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists, and Novelists.
• PEN
  PEN

  acronym

  International Association of Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists, and Novelists

pen

¹ American  

[pen] / pɛn /

noun

1. any of various instruments for writing or drawing with ink or a similar substance.

2. a detachable metal penpoint, filled by dipping or with a quill; nib.

3. such a penpoint with its penholder.

4. fountain pen.

5. ballpoint pen.

6. the pen as the instrument of writing or authorship.

   The pen is mightier than the sword.

7. a person's style or quality of writing.

   He writes with a witty, incisive pen.

8. a writer.

   I leave this story to abler pens.

9. the profession of writing.

   a master of the pen.

10. a pen-shaped device having a cartridge filled with a drug or medication.

    an insulin pen with disposable needles.

11. Computers. stylus.

12. Ornithology.

    1. a quill.

    2. a pinfeather.

13. something resembling or suggesting a feather or quill.

14. Zoology. an internal, corneous or chitinous, feather-shaped structure in certain cephalopods, as the squid.

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verb (used with object)

penned, penning

1. to write with or as with a pen; put down in writing.

   to pen an essay.

2. to draw with or as with a pen.

   to pen a sketch.

pen ² American  

[pen] / pɛn /

noun

1. a small enclosure for domestic animals.

2. animals so enclosed.

   We have a pen of twenty sheep.

3. an enclosure used for confinement or safekeeping.

   We have built several pens to hold our harvest of corn.

4. playpen.

5. bull pen.

6. a dock having a protective concrete structure overhead, used to service and repair submarines.

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verb (used with object)

penned, pent, penning

1. to confine in or as in a pen.

pen ³ American  

[pen] / pɛn /

noun

Slang.

1. penitentiary.

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pen ⁴ American  

[pen] / pɛn /

noun

1. a female swan.

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pen- ⁵ American  

1. variant of pene- before a vowel.

   penannular.

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Pen. ⁶ American  

Or pen.

abbreviation

1. peninsula.

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P.E.N. ⁷ American  

abbreviation

1. International Association of Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists, and Novelists.

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pen ¹ British  

/ pɛn /

noun

1. 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

2. the writing end of such an implement; nib

3. style of writing

4. 1. writing as an occupation

   2. the written word

      the pen is mightier than the sword

5. the long horny internal shell of a squid

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verb

1. (tr) to write or compose

pen ² British  

/ pɛn /

noun

1. an enclosure in which domestic animals are kept

   sheep pen

2. any place of confinement

3. a dock for servicing submarines, esp one having a bombproof roof

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verb

1. (tr) to enclose or keep in a pen

PEN ³ British  

/ pɛn /

acronym

1. International Association of Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists, and Novelists

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Pen. ⁴ British  

abbreviation

1. Peninsula

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pen ⁵ British  

/ pɛn /

noun

1. informal short for penitentiary

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pen ⁶ British  

/ pɛn /

noun

1. a female swan

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pen Idioms  

1. see slip of the lip (pen).

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Other Word Forms

• penner
  noun
• penlike
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of pen¹

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”

Origin of pen²

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

Origin of pen³

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85; shortened form

Origin of pen⁴

First recorded in 1540–50; origin uncertain

Explanation

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pen pen- Pen. P.E.N. PEN penned penning pent

You can use the tip of a ballpoint pen to push through the centre of it.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

Earlier this year, it came out with the multidose KwikPen for Zepbound, which is less expensive than the single-dose pen.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

In the Season 2 premiere of “Your Friends & Neighbors,” Jon Hamm’s Coop falls on his back while trying to steal a $100,000 Montblanc pen.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

Such overarching public sentiment inspired Johnson to pen a 700-word essay on why that mindset was the “most interesting phenomenon happening on earth right now.”

From Slate ● Jul. 31, 2026

Aunt Kitty’s pen moved furiously across the page as she perched at a desk near the foot of our beds.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan

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

Two or three chroniclers of the day have left us pen- pictures of the French Canadians as they were before the English came.

From The Seigneurs of Old Canada : A Chronicle of New World Feudalism by William Bennett Munro

This is the pen- and-ink sketch drawn from memory by Hogarth, long after Fielding's death, to serve as a frontispiece for Murphy's edition of his works.

From Fielding by Austin Dobson

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 Sir Richard Francis Burton

“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 Richard Griffin, Baron Braybrooke

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

President John Galsworthy, in which he cites a resolution recently passed by P.E.N. leadership:

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

He is a backer of Poland's Solidarity movement and a former president of the P.E.N. club, the international writers' organization that monitors the restriction of free expression.

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 Maisie Ward

PEN says that it is difficult to assess how much of what writers are experiencing “reflects matters of business or taste.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 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

According to PEN America, artists and performers across the country report a growing climate of self-censorship, with many avoiding political humor altogether.

From Salon ● Nov. 6, 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

On a Turkish hillside overlooking the olive-covered slopes outside Izmir is a cave known to generations of locals as the place where Homer penned "The Odyssey".

From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026

Search for the phrase “too much cash” and you will find numerous articles penned by the likes of JPMorgan Chase and Charles Schwab, warning about the risk of being underinvested.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

The ire stems from a biting 4,200-word takedown of “The Odyssey” penned by classicist Wilson, who translated Homer’s poem in 2017.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

Woodall still works at the Economist as the Asian editor, but the commemorative article published in the August issue was penned by Simon Cox.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026

The fog wasn’t simply the steamy vapors off the bay caught and penned in by hills, but a soft breath of anonymity that shrouded and cushioned the bashful traveler.

From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou

Wilson -- behind an acclaimed translation which Nolan has praised -- generated headlines this week after penning a scathing critique of his screenplay.

From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026

That means writers penning all their own work—and people who acknowledge using chatbots for help—are trying to master something they never worried about before: how to sound human.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 6, 2026

She continued writing while working as a doctor specialising in brain disorders in Boston, Massachusetts, and her publishing career took off when she began penning psychological thrillers.

From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2026

But after an extensive hiatus, all three Wayans brothers are back, penning a new script that will lampoon the best and worst horror has had to offer in the 13 years since “Scary Movie 5.”

From Salon ● Jan. 4, 2026

He finishes penning a small detail on Wolverine’s leg muscle and finally looks up.

From "A Step from Heaven" by An Na

Aswan remembers taking her driving theory test: "I got so pent up about passing it first time that when I failed by a couple of points I've never tried to get it back."

From BBC ● Nov. 19, 2025

Toxic energy and animosity get pent up, and carried out into the yard.

From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2025

And when Anisimova’s final return of serve flew wide, Sabalenka released all of the pent up tension by sinking to her knees and weeping onto the court.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2025

Jefferson played with the ferocity of nearly two years of pent up football frustration.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 6, 2024

But this time his feelings were all pent in his heart: I was not worthy to hear them uttered.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

Related Words

• fountain pen
• marker
• stick