pencil: Meaning and Definition of

pen•cil

Pronunciation: (pen'sul), [key]
— n., v., -ciled, -cil•ing -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. the collection of lines, planes, or surfaces passing through a given point or set of points and satisfying a given equation or condition.
  8. 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. 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.
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