pencil
noun
pen·cil
| \ ˈpen(t)-səl
\
\
Definition of pencil
(Entry 1 of 2)
1
: an artist's brush
2
: an artist's individual skill or style
3a
: an implement for writing, drawing, or marking consisting of or containing a slender cylinder or strip of a solid marking substance
b
: a small medicated or cosmetic roll or stick for local applications
4
: a set of geometric objects each pair of which has a common property
the lines in a plane through a point comprise a pencil of lines
5
: something (such as a beam of radiation) long and thin like a pencil
pencil
verb
penciled
or pencilled;
penciling
or pencilling\ ˈpen(t)-s(ə-)liŋ
\
\
Definition of pencil (Entry 2 of 2)
1
: to paint, draw, write, or mark with a pencil
2
: to plan or designate tentatively
—used with in penciled him in as the nominee
Examples of pencil in a Sentence
Noun
Use a pencil instead of a pen so you can erase your mistakes.Verb
He penciled some notes on a piece of paper.Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
There are screens to create animation and some good-old colored pencils and crayons next to a stack of paper on worktables. — Kathy Berdan, Twin Cities, "North End brings a new look, new events center and Angry Birds to Minnesota State Fair," 21 Aug. 2019 In warmer months, Eddie would position himself on a wheeled, wooden platform and sell pencils and newspapers to passersby. — John Kelly, Washington Post, "Remembering Eddie Bernstein, the legless beggar with the monkey named Gypsy," 17 Aug. 2019 Office Depot is advertising 80 percent off supplies such as pencils and highlighters as well as $10 school backpacks while supplies last. — Austin Fuller, orlandosentinel.com, "Tax-free holiday starts Friday. On no-tax list: School supplies, computers and ... lingerie?," 29 July 2019 According to Gaga's makeup artist and Haus Laboratories global artistry director, Sarah Tanno, the pop icon likes to line her lips with these pencils and also fill them in entirely. — Marci Robin, Allure, "Lady Gaga’s New Haus Laboratories Lip Liners and Lip Glosses Are Already the Top-Selling Products in Their Amazon Categories," 17 July 2019 This Writing Essentials Kit contains two permanent markers, one dry erase marker, three highlighters, six ballpoint pens, one gel pen, two felt pens, three mechanical pencils and two erasers—all for a low price. — Seamus Bellamy, USA TODAY, "The very best Prime Day deals for students and teachers," 15 July 2019 Equipped with a tablet loaded with a digital neighborhood map, and a portable charger, field workers like Laryea are testing new technologies moving away from the pencil and paper of the previous census. — Youyou Zhou, Quartz Africa, "Ghana is betting on a digital census in 2020 to transform its informal economy," 18 June 2019 There's even a piece with royal pedigree: a pencil and watercolor piece created by Queen Victoria, who sketched and painted throughout her life, is on display. — Maggie Maloney, Town & Country, "Prince Charles and Camilla Tour the Newly Renovated Fife Arms, Which Features Art by Queen Victoria," 11 Jan. 2019 Customers returned with bags filled with notebooks, pens, pencils, rulers, markers, or Crayons. — Dennis Hohenberger, courant.com, "ERfC, ShopRite ‘Stuff The Bus’ With School Supplies," 7 Aug. 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
Those defenses did not have Justin Houston penciled in as the starter on the other side, didn’t have the same list of promising young pass rushers the Colts have lined up to develop behind Sheard this season. — Joel A. Erickson, Indianapolis Star, "Insider: How the Colts will replace Jabaal Sheard if veteran DE has to miss the opener," 22 Aug. 2019 Go ahead and pencil three of those four teams into the College Football Playoff. — Joseph Goodman | Jgoodman@al.com, al, "College football is broken, but there’s a fix," 20 Aug. 2019 Tressel said Gervin and fellow sophomore Shakur Brown are penciled in at cornerback behind starters Josiah Scott and Josh Butler, with both backups pushing for playing time. — Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press, "Michigan State offense continues to impress: 'I think they’re gonna shock people'," 19 Aug. 2019 That surprised market commentators and the Bank of England, which had pencilled in stagnation, not contraction. — The Economist, "Britain’s economy contracts for the first time since 2012," 9 Aug. 2019 But the actual loss proved nearly 50% greater than the $3.6 billion figure analysts had pencilled in. — Alison Griswold, Quartz, "Uber’s earnings were even worse than investors feared," 9 Aug. 2019 Elsa/Getty Images Before this Yankees’ season, Domingo German was fighting for a spot on the roster, either in the back of the rotation or in the bullpen, and D.J. LeMahieu was penciled in as a multiple-position infielder. — James Wagner, New York Times, "Yankees Continue to Add to the Red Sox’ Frustrations," 3 Aug. 2019 The Diamondbacks have their best starting pitchers in Robbie Ray, Merill Kelly and Zack Grienke penciled to be on the hill. — Dana Scott, azcentral, "Sports this weekend: Diamondbacks vs. Goldschmidt, Wimbledon finals, Mercury vs. Sun," 12 July 2019 Despite Ryan Finley’s addition, Driskel enters training camp penciled in as the No. 2 quarterback. — Tyler Dragon, Cincinnati.com, "Show them the money? WR A.J. Green headlines Bengals players entering contract years," 27 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pencil.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for pencil
pencil
noun
English Language Learners Definition of pencil
(Entry 1 of 2)
: an instrument used for writing and drawing that has a hard outer part and a black or colored center part
pencil
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of pencil (Entry 2 of 2)
: to draw or write (something) with a pencil
See the full definition for pencil in the English Language Learners Dictionary
pencil
noun
pen·cil
| \ ˈpen-səl
\
\
Kids Definition of pencil
(Entry 1 of 2)
: a device for writing or drawing consisting of a stick of black or colored material enclosed in wood, plastic, or metal
pencil
verb
penciled
or pencilled;
penciling
or pencilling
Kids Definition of pencil (Entry 2 of 2)
: to write, mark, or draw with a pencil
pencil
noun
pen·cil
| \ ˈpen(t)-səl
\
\
Medical Definition of pencil
1
: a small medicated or cosmetic roll or stick for local applications
a menthol pencil
2
: an aggregate of rays of radiation (as light) especially when diverging from or converging to a point
Keep scrolling for more