DictionaryAI

pencil

PEN-suhl/ˈpɛnsəl/

Pluralpencils

Verbpencils

7 meanings of pencil

Practice

  1. 1
    writing toolnouncountable
    A thin tool with a gray or colored center, in wood or plastic, that you use to write or draw.

    Like a pen, but you can erase the marks it makes.

    She sharpened her pencil before the spelling test.

    He drew the whole map with one pencil and a ruler.

    UsageWrite in pencil or with a pencil.

    Note
  2. 2
    verbtransitive
    To write or draw with a pencil, or to make thin lines that look like they were drawn with one.

    Pencil a small check next to each name you recognize.

    Frost penciled the cold glass with feathery white lines.

    UsageBritish spelling: pencilled.

    Similardraw, sketch, trace

    Note
  3. 3
    nounarchaichistoricalcountable
    A small, thin brush that artists once used for painting fine details.
    why is it not lawfull for every man to pourtray himself with his pen, as it was for him to doe it with a pensell?
    1603, Michel de Montaigne, The EssayesHere, pensell means a small, thin brush used for painting.
    He requested three things of Sir Joshua Reynolds:—To forgive him thirty pounds which he had borrowed of him; to read the Bible; and never to use his pencil on a Sunday.
    1791, James Boswell, Life of Johnson

    Similarbrush, paintbrush

    Note

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of pencil apart? Answer 4 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

It comes from an Old French word, which came from Latin. The Latin word meant a little brush. It is not related to the word pen.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts