ballpoint pen

noun

ball·​point pen ˈbȯl-ˌpȯint- How to pronounce ballpoint pen (audio)
variants or less commonly ballpoint
: a pen having as the writing point a small rotating metal ball that inks itself by contact with an inner magazine

Examples of ballpoint pen in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Clark is accused of setting up a covert video-recording device, disguised in a ballpoint pen, in the bathroom of a residence, using it to capture intimate footage of people, including minors, according to the case affidavit of probable cause. Shannon Tyler, Idaho Statesman, 26 Feb. 2026 In my testing, there was tons of bleed-through, and writing with a ballpoint pen made the backside feel like Braille. Scott Gilbertson, Wired News, 23 Jan. 2026 On the back of each block, draw the outline of a dreidel with a ballpoint pen, pressing hard. Janna Oberdorf, Parents, 15 Dec. 2025 David Truttmann, the paper’s publisher, took me through a recent edition with a ballpoint pen, charting linguistic shifts like a field commander repositioning troops. Simon Akam, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for ballpoint pen

Word History

First Known Use

1953, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ballpoint pen was in 1953

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Cite this Entry

“Ballpoint pen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ballpoint%20pen. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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