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pencil

Syllabification: (pen·cil)
Pronunciation: /ˈpensəl/

Translate pencil | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of pencil

noun

  • an instrument for writing or drawing, consisting of a thin stick of graphite or a similar substance enclosed in a long thin piece of wood or fixed in a metal or plastic case.
  • graphite or a similar substance used as a medium for writing or drawing:the words were scribbled in pencil
  • [usually with modifier] a cosmetic in a long thin stick, designed to be applied to a particular part of the face:an eyebrow pencil
  • something with the shape of a pencil:a pencil of light [as modifier]:a long pencil beam
  • Physics & Geometry a set of light rays, lines, etc., converging to or diverging narrowly from a single point.

verb (pencils, penciling, penciled ; Britishpencils, pencilling, pencilled)

[with object]
  • write, draw, or color (something) with a pencil:a previous owner has penciled their name inside the cover (as adjective penciled)a penciled note

Phrasal Verbs

pencil something in

  • 1fill in an area or shape with pencil strokes:a lot of the outlines had been penciled in
  • 2arrange, forecast, or note down something provisionally or tentatively:May 15 was penciled in as the date for the meeting
  • (pencil someone in) make a provisional or tentative arrangement with or for someone:he was penciled in for surgery at the end of the month

Derivatives

penciler

noun

Origin:

Middle English (denoting a fine paintbrush): from Old French pincel, from a diminutive of Latin peniculus 'brush', diminutive of penis 'tail'. The verb was originally (early 16th century) in the sense 'paint with a fine brush'

Spelling rule

Do not double the final consonant when adding endings that begin with a vowel to a word that ends in a vowel plus a consonant, if the stress is not at the end of the word (as in target): (pencils, penciling, penciled).

pencil in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of pencil in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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