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Dictionary


pen•cil



Pronunciation: (pen'sul), [key]
—n., v., -ciled, -cil•ingor (esp. Brit.) -cilled, -cil•ling.

—n.
1. a slender tube of wood, metal, plastic, etc., containing a core or strip of graphite, a solid coloring material, or the like, used for writing or drawing.
2. a stick of cosmetic coloring material for use on the eyebrows, eyelids, etc.
3. anything shaped or used like a pencil, as a stick of medicated material: a styptic pencil.
4. a narrow set of lines, light rays, or the like, diverging from or converging to a point: a pencil of sunlight.
5. a slender, pointed piece of a substance used for marking.
6. style or skill in drawing or delineation: He favored the late products of the artist's pencil.
7. Math.the collection of lines, planes, or surfaces passing through a given point or set of points and satisfying a given equation or condition.
8. Archaic.an artist's paintbrush, esp. for fine work.

—v.t.
1. to write, draw, mark, or color with, or as if with, a pencil.
2. to use a pencil on.
3. pencil in, to schedule or list tentatively, as or as if by writing down in pencil rather than in ink: I'll pencil you in for ten o'clock.

Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.

Penchipencil beam
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