pen·cil
ˈpen(t)-səl 
1
: an artist's brush
2
: an artist's individual skill or style
3
a
: 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
penciled or pencilled; penciling or pencilling
ˈpen(t)-s(ə-)liŋ
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
Bay City News Service, The Mercury News, 16 Nov. 2024
Throw on a pencil dress and carry a cylindrical item and call it a Bauhaus wand.
—James Powel, USA TODAY, 25 Oct. 2024
Amala Balakrishner, CNBC, 30 Oct. 2024
And under San Francisco Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener’s SB 937, developers won’t have to pay impact fees — which are imposed by local governments on new construction — until the project is complete, a move intended to help reduce their costs and make more projects pencil out.
—Kate Talerico, The Mercury News, 1 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for pencil 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
During the search, officers found a plastic pencil box in the passenger seat containing cocaine, methamphetamine and oxycodone tablets.
—Bay City News Service, The Mercury News, 16 Nov. 2024
Throw on a pencil dress and carry a cylindrical item and call it a Bauhaus wand.
—James Powel, USA TODAY, 25 Oct. 2024
Verb
Going forward, the analysts have penciled a 15% CAGR (compound average growth rate) for Fiem’s revenue between full-year 2024 and full-year 2027, and 19% CAGR for its earnings.
—Amala Balakrishner, CNBC, 30 Oct. 2024
And under San Francisco Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener’s SB 937, developers won’t have to pay impact fees — which are imposed by local governments on new construction — until the project is complete, a move intended to help reduce their costs and make more projects pencil out.
—Kate Talerico, The Mercury News, 1 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for pencil
Articles Related to pencil
Dictionary Entries Near pencil
Cite this Entry
“Pencil.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pencil. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
pencil
1 of 2 noun
pen·cil
ˈpen(t)-səl
1
: an instrument for writing, drawing, or marking consisting of or containing a slender cylinder or strip of a solid marking substance
2
: something like a pencil in form or use
an eyebrow pencil
pencil
2 of 2 verb
penciled or pencilled; penciling or pencilling
ˈpen(t)-s(ə-)liŋ
: to mark, draw, or write with or as if with a pencil
Etymology
Noun
Middle English pensel "an artist's brush, pencil," from early French pincel (same meaning), derived from Latin penicillus, literally, "little tail" — related to penicillin see Word History at 3pen
Medical Definition
pencil
noun
pen·cil
ˈpen(t)-səl
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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share