stencil
Americannoun
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stencils
plural
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a device for applying a pattern, design, words, etc., to a surface, consisting of a thin sheet of cardboard, metal, or other material from which figures or letters have been cut out, a coloring substance, ink, etc., being rubbed, brushed, or pressed over the sheet, passing through the perforations and onto the surface.
-
the letters, designs, etc., produced on a surface by this method.
verb (used with object)
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stencils,
present (3rd person singular)
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stenciled,
past participle, past
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stencilled,
past participle, past (especially British)
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stenciling,
present participle
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stencilling
present participle (especially British)
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to mark or paint (a surface) by means of a stencil.
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to produce (letters, figures, designs, etc.) by means of a stencil.
noun
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a device for applying a design, characters, etc, to a surface, consisting of a thin sheet of plastic, metal, cardboard, etc in which the design or characters have been cut so that ink or paint can be applied through the incisions onto the surface
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a decoration, design, or characters produced in this way
verb
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to mark (a surface) with a stencil
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to produce (characters or a design) with a stencil
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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stencilsimple
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stencilssimple
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have stenciledperfect
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have stencilledperfect
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has stenciledperfect
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has stencilledperfect
-
am stencilingprogressive
-
am stencillingprogressive
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are stencilingprogressive
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are stencillingprogressive
-
is stencilingprogressive
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is stencillingprogressive
-
have been stencilingperfect progressive
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have been stencillingperfect progressive
-
has been stencilingperfect progressive
-
has been stencillingperfect progressive
Past
-
stenciledsimple
-
stencilledsimple
-
had stenciledperfect
-
had stencilledperfect
-
was stencilingprogressive
-
was stencillingprogressive
-
were stencilingprogressive
-
were stencillingprogressive
-
had been stencilingperfect progressive
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had been stencillingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of stencil
1375–1425; earlier stanesile, late Middle English stansele to ornament with diverse colors or spangles < Middle French estanceler, derivative of estencele a spark, ornamental spangle < Vulgar Latin *stincilla, metathetic variant of Latin scintilla scintilla
Explanation
A stencil is a stiff sheet of material with a design or image cut out of it. When you apply ink or paint to the stencil, the design is printed on the surface below. Number and letter stencils make it easier to paint your new boat's name on its hull or to put your address on your mailbox. Stencil can also be a verb. You might stencil glow-in-the-dark stars all over your bedroom ceiling. Stencil comes from the Middle English stencellen, "decorate with bright colors."
Vocabulary lists containing stencil
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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
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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:
Banksy’s stencil works are with the murals on the fifth floor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
The hand stencil dates back at least 67,800 years, making it the oldest reliably dated cave art ever found.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 22, 2026
A light source with a very tight wavelength, somewhere between ultraviolet light and X-rays, shines through a chip-shaped stencil and onto the silicon wafer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
"Using the burnt material that remains on the surface of the casing as a stencil, we can deposit specific materials in between the gaps, allowing for the visualisation," said Dr. McKeever.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2025
Reporters would telephone in stories to writers wearing headphones, and the writers would stencil the stories on mimeograph sheets.
From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut
Its photocopiers didn’t need awkward stencils to serve as the master copy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 15, 2025
Stewart offers several stencils and designs — 41 to be exact! — to help you decorate your porch pumpkins like a pro.
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2025
On Friday, Musk shared two side-by-side A.I.-generated images of graffiti-style stencils: a smiling, handsome Kirk, and a cowering, dying Zarutska.
From Slate ● Sep. 12, 2025
The group purchased the stencils that were used at Stoner Park and served as inspiration for Hale, but were not involved in his efforts in Sawtelle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2025
Jamie is with her, too, and—surprise—she has almost the exact same bike, only hers is pale yellow and the stencils are paisley.
From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina
The artist known for spray-painting stenciled images of rats and protesters onto buildings around the world has also worked hard to remain anonymous.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026
The next record in the archival files is his business card, crisp and rectangular with the words “The Baron Georg von Trapp” stenciled in the center.
From Slate ● Jan. 26, 2025
Brandon Stirling Baker lit the piece with elegance, his scenic design putting stenciled numbers on the wings that suggested a warehouse or maybe an old gym.
From New York Times ● May 3, 2024
White carnations dotted every room and were stenciled on some walls, signifying a tradition after Sounders matches where players handed the flower out to fans.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 13, 2024
Lillian walked to a box in the front hall stenciled “shrine.”
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
It took him a full day to broadcast the seed into the furrows, after which he folded away the burlap, barely noticing a stencilled word indicating where it had come from: Odessa.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 17, 2025
And with no place for neutral Tests at Lord's on the honours board since they were refurbished in 2018 it may well be stencilled on there permanently.
From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2025
Rising to fame by creating stencilled designs around his home city of Bristol in the early 1990s, despite worldwide following, Banksy's identity remains unknown.
From BBC ● May 17, 2023
A slogan stencilled in red onto the road in Hebrew, Arabic and English by the side of the road read: "Drawing the line."
From Reuters ● Mar. 16, 2023
"He's his name stencilled on all the capes and muletas," she said.
From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway
While stenciling and pulp painting are inherently additive practices, blowouts are subtractive.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
The nanocryotron was created by using electron beam lithography, a kind of stenciling technique that uses a beam of electrons to remove a polymer film to expose a particular region of interest.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 11, 2024
The ministry also accused Russia of being behind the stenciling of Jewish stars last November on walls in Paris and its suburbs, causing alarm about the safety of France’s Jewish community, the largest in Europe.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 12, 2024
But the interior — illuminated with the natural light of more than 900 windows, boasting a 108-foot high rotunda, soaring archways, ornate Moorish-inspired stenciling — comes as a surprise.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 17, 2021
We’d chosen blue and were stenciling white stars all over it.
From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry
Famed for his stencilling combining humour with graffiti, as well as his 2010 Academy award-nominated film Exit Through the Gift Shop, Banksy's identity has long remained a mystery.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2022
These include fixed drawing room seating with Art Nouveau glass panels, original light fittings and light switches, carved chimney pieces, servant bell pushes and much of the original stencilling to the hall and stairs.
From BBC ● Dec. 15, 2021
“That’s the beauty of it. They are making this modern world and still someone has laboured over stencilling over these thousands of dividers across Mumbai. It’s quite something.”
From The Guardian ● Apr. 9, 2019
For many years, Spero suffered from arthritis: hand-painting gave way to stencilling and home-made printing.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 2, 2011
The man who was stencilling the new ones and tossing them into a pile stopped.
From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway
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