pencil

pencil — noun

1. a slim tool with a dark or coloured center, used to make words or pictures and o

1.nounA1
Definition

a slim tool with a dark or coloured center, used to make words or pictures and often easy to erase

Example

Eva sharpened her pencil before the math test began.

collocation: sharpen a pencil

A yellow pencil rolled off the desk during art class.

Common collocations
  • sharpen a pencil
  • pencil point
  • colored pencil
  • pencil case
  • write in pencil
Synonyms

Grammar Patterns

write in pencil

sharpen a pencil

use a pencil to draw

Usage Note

Often appears in the phrase 'in pencil' when the writing can be changed later. Distinguish from 'pen', which uses ink and is usually less easy to remove.

Common Mistakes

Write it by pencil.
Write it in pencil.
English usually says 'in pencil' for the writing medium.

2. a stick of make-up in a pencil shape, used to add color or lines around the eyes

2.nounB1
Definition

a stick of make-up in a pencil shape, used to add color or lines around the eyes, lips, or brows

Example

Nina used a brown eyebrow pencil before the school play.

collocation: eyebrow pencil

The make-up artist kept three lip pencils in a metal box.

plural form: lip pencils

Common collocations
  • eyebrow pencil
  • eye pencil
  • lip pencil
  • black pencil
  • soft pencil
Synonyms

Grammar Patterns

eyebrow pencil

lip pencil

use a pencil on the eyes

Usage Note

Usually used with the face part named before it, especially 'eyebrow pencil', 'eye pencil', and 'lip pencil'. Distinguish from noun/1, which is for writing or drawing on paper.

Common Mistakes

I bought a pencil for my eyebrows.
I bought an eyebrow pencil.
For make-up, English often names the part of the face before 'pencil'.

3. a very narrow line of light coming through a small opening

3.nounC1
Definition

a very narrow line of light coming through a small opening

Example

A pencil of light slipped under the bedroom door.

fixed phrase: a pencil of light

Through the cave roof, a pale pencil of light touched the wet stone.

Common collocations
  • a pencil of light
  • a pencil of sunlight
  • a pale pencil of light
  • a thin pencil of light
Synonyms
  • beam

    the most common broader word for a line of light

  • ray

    often suggests a longer or stronger line of light

  • shaft

    a literary word often used for light falling in a narrow line

Grammar Patterns

a pencil of light

a pencil of sunlight

Usage Note

Most often appears in the fixed pattern 'a pencil of light'. This literary sense is much rarer than noun/1 and usually appears in descriptive writing.

pencil — adjective

pencil — verb

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

For the main noun sense, 'pencil' is the normal word for a tool with a solid core that leaves a mark you can often erase. 'Pen' is close in function, but it uses ink and usually makes a darker, more permanent line. 'Crayon' is softer and is mainly used for broad coloured marks, especially by children. 'Marker' gives stronger colour too, but its wet ink can pass through paper and is harder to rub out. 'Mechanical pencil' is a subtype of pencil with a plastic or metal body and replaceable lead. You sign a bank form with a pen, colour a poster with crayons or markers, and write a first draft in pencil.

pencil ↗pen ↗crayonmarker ↗mechanical pencil

Common collocations

Phrases

  • write in pencil
  • draw in pencil

Prepositions

  • in pencil
  • with a pencil

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

Pencil came into English from Old French pincel, a word for a small paintbrush. That French form goes back to Latin penicillus, meaning a little tail or little brush. English first used pencil for a fine brush, and later the name shifted to the writing and drawing tool with a graphite or coloured center.