pencil in
phrasal 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 figurativelyHe was penciled in as the director's replacement.
Examples of pencil in in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Even if someone hasn’t picked up a pencil in years, the idea of drawing comes with a childlike comfort, a space where anything can happen and the only limits are the tools in hand and the imagination behind them.
—
Connie Etemadi, USA Today, 15 Jan. 2026
Her lips shine, too, with an ombré look in tawny brown hues, an effect created by makeup artist Bella Mayven with Charlotte Tilbury's Lip Cheat pencil in Foxy Brown and Big Lip Plumpgasm gloss in Nudegasm Diamonds.
—Marci Robin, Allure, 12 Jan. 2026
More than $53 million in new funding is penciled in for staff investments, nearly $18 million of that is for dealing with rising health care costs.
—Dennis Valera, CBS News, 8 Jan. 2026
Consider penciling in a financial check-in with a partner or updating your privacy settings online.
—Tarot.com, Sun Sentinel, 4 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pencil in
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Connie Etemadi, USA Today, 15 Jan. 2026
Her lips shine, too, with an ombré look in tawny brown hues, an effect created by makeup artist Bella Mayven with Charlotte Tilbury's Lip Cheat pencil in Foxy Brown and Big Lip Plumpgasm gloss in Nudegasm Diamonds.
—Marci Robin, Allure, 12 Jan. 2026
More than $53 million in new funding is penciled in for staff investments, nearly $18 million of that is for dealing with rising health care costs.
—Dennis Valera, CBS News, 8 Jan. 2026
Consider penciling in a financial check-in with a partner or updating your privacy settings online.
—Tarot.com, Sun Sentinel, 4 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pencil in
Cite this Entry
“Pencil in.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pencil%20in. Accessed 28 Jan. 2026.
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