stylus

noun

sty·​lus ˈstī-ləs 

plural styli ˈstī(-ə)-ˌlī  also styluses ˈstī-lə-səz 

: an instrument for writing, marking, or incising: such as

a

: an instrument used by the ancients in writing on clay or waxed tablets

b

: a hard-pointed pen-shaped instrument for marking on stencils used in a reproducing machine

c(1)

: needle sense 3c

(2)

: a cutting tool used to produce an original record groove during disc recording

d

: a pen-shaped pointing device used for entering data (such as positional information from a graphics tablet) into a computer

Examples of stylus in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Before the Mingograph, electrocardiograph machines relied on a writing stylus to trace the waveform on a moving roll of paper. —IEEE Spectrum, 28 Aug. 2025

Original price: $339 The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE is a versatile tablet that comes with the S Pen, a special stylus for writing and drawing directly on the screen. —Nora Colomer May Earn A Commission If You Buy Through Our Referral Links. This Content Was Created By A Team That Works Independently From The Fox Newsroom., FOXNews.com, 27 Aug. 2025

The early administrators pressed the opposite, unsharpened end of a stylus into clay to represent numbers. —Literary Hub, 26 Aug. 2025

If not for the rhythmic motion of the stylus’s nub against the touch screen, he could have been mistaken for someone meditating. —Matt Alt, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin stylus, stilus spike, stylus — more at style

First Known Use

1773, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for stylus

• eyeless
• majlis
• xylose

Kids Definition

stylus

noun

sty·​lus ˈstī-ləs 

plural styli ˈstī(ə)l-ˌī  also styluses ˈstī-lə-səz 

1

: an instrument used by the ancients for writing on wax tablets

2

: needle entry 1 sense 4

Medical Definition

stylus

noun

sty·​lus

variants also stilus

ˈstī-ləs 

plural styli ˈstī(ə)l-ˌī  also styluses ˈstī-lə-səz  or stili or stiluses

: an instrument for writing, marking, or incising: as

a

: a hard-pointed instrument for punching the dots in writing braille with a braille slate

b

: a device that traces a recording (as of an electrocardiograph) on paper