Definition of "pencil" in English

noun

1. (now chiefly historical) A paintbrush.

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

3. (optics) An aggregate or collection of rays of light, especially when diverging from, or converging to, a point.

4. (geometry) 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.

5. (medicine, obsolete, rare) A small medicated bougie.

6. (gambling) Ellipsis of power of the pencil.

verb

1. (transitive) To write (something) using a pencil.

   • I penciled (BrE: pencilled) a brief reminder in my notebook.

2. (transitive) To mark with, or as if with, a pencil.