Library / English Dictionary

PENCIL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: pencilled    , pencilling   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A thin cylindrical pointed writing implement; a rod of marking substance encased in wood

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("pencil" is a kind of...):

writing implement (an implement that is used to write)

Meronyms (parts of "pencil"):

point (sharp end)

pencil eraser; rubber; rubber eraser (an eraser made of rubber (or of a synthetic material with properties similar to rubber); commonly mounted at one end of a pencil)

peak; point; tip (a V shape)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pencil"):

lead pencil (pencil that has graphite as the marking substance)

slate pencil (a pencil of soft slate (or soapstone) used for writing on a slate)

Derivation:

pencil (write, draw, or trace with a pencil)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A cosmetic in a long thin stick; designed to be applied to a particular part of the face

Example:

an eyebrow pencil

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("pencil" is a kind of...):

cosmetic (a toiletry designed to beautify the body)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A figure formed by a set of straight lines or light rays meeting at a point

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Hypernyms ("pencil" is a kind of...):

figure (a combination of points and lines and planes that form a visible palpable shape)

Domain category:

geometry (the pure mathematics of points and lines and curves and surfaces)

natural philosophy; physics (the science of matter and energy and their interactions)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Graphite (or a similar substance) used in such a way as to be a medium of communication

Example:

this artist's favorite medium is pencil

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("pencil" is a kind of...):

black lead; graphite; plumbago (used as a lubricant and as a moderator in nuclear reactors)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Write, draw, or trace with a pencil

Example:

he penciled a figure

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Hypernyms (to "pencil" is one way to...):

draw (represent by making a drawing of, as with a pencil, chalk, etc. on a surface)

"Pencil" entails doing...:

delineate; describe; draw; line; trace (make a mark or lines on a surface)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

pencil (a thin cylindrical pointed writing implement; a rod of marking substance encased in wood)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Represent by making a drawing of, as with pencil, chalk, etc. on a surface; make a mark or lines on a surface.

(Draw, NCI Thesaurus)

"I shall get a nice box of Faber's drawing pencils; I really need them," said Amy decidedly.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

He called for paper and pencil, and for drinks all around, and while they drank his very good health, he clung to the bar and scribbled.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

They are so small that a line of 1,000 could fit across a pencil eraser.

(Bacterial Infections, NIH: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)

They are usually round or oval and no larger than a pencil eraser.

(Moles, NIH: National Cancer Institute)

Her greatest deficiency was in the pencil—she had no notion of drawing—not enough even to attempt a sketch of her lover's profile, that she might be detected in the design.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

Challenger's pencil hovered over the great blank which marked the lake.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Some practitioners use colored pencils or crayons to allow patients to color code areas of more or less severe pain.

(Pain Map, NCI Thesaurus)

Adam was lucky — a mammogram caught her cancer early… when the tumor was just three by four millimeters, smaller than the size of a pencil eraser.

(Study Shows Chemotherapy Not Needed To Treat Many Breast Cancers, Carol Pearson/VOA)

A seven part test that evaluates a broad range of hand functions used in daily activities using common items such as cans, paper clips, and pencils.

(Jebsen-Taylor Hand Function Test, NCI Thesaurus)