pencil in

verb

penciled in or pencilled in; penciling in or pencilling in; pencils in

: to put (someone or something that may be changed later) on a schedule, list, etc.

Would you like me to pencil you in for Thursday morning at 11?

—sometimes used figuratively

He was penciled in as the director's replacement.

Examples of pencil in in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The full committee in June penciled in one quarter-percentage-point increase by the end of 2026. — Jeff Cox, CNBC, 29 July 2026

Regardless of how fans have already penciled in Rodriguez as the starter over Dodson, don’t be surprised if health becomes a factor. — Miami Herald, 27 July 2026

Perhaps the players can pencil in some downtime for a trip to the Dells or Lollapalooza, or President Brian Cashman can make a late-night trade from the Weiner’s Circle. — Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 26 July 2026

Nine policymakers penciled in at least one quarter-point hike in 2026 in their latest set of economic projections submitted at their June gathering. — Maria Eloisa Capurro, Fortune, 9 July 2026