pencil
Use Pencil in a sentence
pen·cil
[pen-suh
l] noun, verb, pen·ciled, pen·cil·ing or ( especially British ) pen·cilled, pen·cil·ling. noun
1.
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.
2.
a stick of cosmetic coloring material for use on the eyebrows, eyelids, etc.
3.
anything shaped or used like a pencil, as a stick of medicated material: a styptic pencil.
4.
a narrow set of lines, light rays, or the like, diverging from or converging to a point: a pencil of sunlight.
5.
a slender, pointed piece of a substance used for marking.
6.
style or skill in drawing or delineation: He favored the late products of the artist's pencil.
7.
Mathematics. the collection of lines, planes, or surfaces passing through a given point or set of points and satisfying a given equation or condition.
8.
Archaic. an artist's paintbrush, especially for fine work.
verb (used with object)
9.
to write, draw, mark, or color with, or as if with, a pencil.
10.
to use a pencil on.
00:10
Pencil
is always a great word to know.
So is finite. Does it mean:
| a set of elements capable of being completely counted and not zero |
| a function having the dependent variable expressed directly in terms of the independent variables, such as y = 3x + 4 |
11.
pencil in, to schedule or list tentatively, as or as if by writing down in pencil rather than in ink: I'll pencil you in for ten o'clock.
Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English pencel < Middle French pincel ≪ Latin pēnicillus painter's brush or pencil, diminutive of pēniculus little tail. See penis, -cule1
1350–1400; Middle English pencel < Middle French pincel ≪ Latin pēnicillus painter's brush or pencil, diminutive of pēniculus little tail. See penis, -cule1
Related forms
pen·cil·er; especially British, pen·cil·ler, noun
pen·cil·like, adjective
un·pen·ciled, adjective
un·pen·cilled, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To pencil
Collins
World English Dictionary
pencil (ˈpɛnsəl) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a. 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 |
| b. (as modifier): a pencil drawing | |
| 2. | something similar in shape or function: a styptic pencil; an eyebrow pencil |
| 3. | a narrow set of lines or rays, such as light rays, diverging from or converging to a point |
| 4. | archaic an artist's fine paintbrush |
| 5. | rare an artist's individual style or technique in drawing |
| —vb , -cils, -cilling, -cilled, -cils, -ciling, -ciled | |
| 6. | to draw, colour, or write with a pencil |
| 7. | to mark with a pencil |
| 8. | pencil in to note, arrange, include, etc provisionally or tentatively |
| [C14: from Old French pincel, from Latin pēnicillus painter's brush, from pēniculus a little tail, from pēnis tail] | |
| 'penciller | |
| —n | |
| 'penciler | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
pencil
late 14c., "an artist's fine brush of camel hair," from O.Fr. pincel "artist's paintbrush" (Fr. pinceau), from L. penicillus "paintbrush, pencil," lit. "little tail," dim. of peniculus "brush," itself a dim. of penis "tail" (see penis). Small brushes formerly used for writing
before modern lead or chalk pencils; meaning "graphite writing implement" apparently evolved late 16c. Derogatory slang pencil-pusher "office worker" is from 1881; pencil neck "weak person" first recorded 1973. To pencil (something) in "arrange tentatively" is attested from 1942.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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FOLDOC
Computing Dictionary
PENCIL definition
Pictorial ENCodIng Language. On-line system to display line structures. Sammet 1969, 675.
American Heritage
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Example sentences
Imagine living without the gravity that keeps you on your chair and your pencil on your desk.
When you take a pencil, for example from work, there's all kinds of stories you can tell yourself.
And the orchestra can keep those pages forever, preserving the instructions that librarians laboriously pencil into scores.
It contains entries in pen and pencil, with asterisks in red and blue against some names.
Idioms & Phrases
Nearby Words
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