pencil

noun
pen·cil
/ˈpɛnsəl/

A writing utensil with a graphite (commonly referred to as lead) shaft, usually blended with clay, clad in wood, and sharpened to a taper.

Other meanings

An aggregate or collection of rays of light, especially when diverging from, or converging to, a point.
A family of geometric objects with a common property, such as the set of lines that pass through a given point in a projective plane.

Related words

pencilbeam
penciler
pencilful
pencillate
pencilless
pencilliform
pencillike
pencilly
pencilmaker
pencilmaking
pencilwork
blue pencil doctrine

Example sentences

“I suggest you use a pencil and eraser.”
Tatoeba · Miktsoanit · CC0
“That's a pen, not a pencil.”
Tatoeba · shekitten · CC0
“The pencil case was full of dry-erase markers.”
Tatoeba · ddnktr · CC0

Word history

From Latin "pēnicillum".

Where this comes from

This definition is adapted from “pencil” on Wiktionary, by its contributors; example sentences are from Tatoeba, credited to their authors above, published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.