styl-

1 of 2

combining form

variants or styli- or stylo-

: style : styloid process

stylopodium

stylography

stylus

2 of 2

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 styl- in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

This enables users to spend more time wielding a stylus without interrupting the creative flow by switching back to a mouse or keyboard to perform tasks. —Mark Sparrow, Forbes.com, 24 May 2026

The site also suggests — but doesn’t require — a tablet with a stylus for working on virtual whiteboards. —Kathy Kristof, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 May 2026

The other end of the stylus was flat or spatula-shaped. —Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 17 May 2026

The fake medical prescriptions were legible, but the handwriting looked more like the output of an iPad stylus than a pen on paper. —Lila Shroff, The Atlantic, 2 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Combining form

Latin stilus spike, stem — more at style

Noun

Latin stylus, stilus spike, stylus — more at style

First Known Use

Noun

1773, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for styl-

• aisle
• bile
• chyle
• file
• guile
• heil
• isle
• kyle
• mile
• pile
• rile
• smile