stylus

noun

sty·lus | \ ˈstī-ləs

plural styli\ ˈstī(-ə)-ˌlī

\ also styluses\ ˈstī-lə-səz

Definition of stylus

: 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

The company’s initial reluctance to offer a stylus or a keyboard has since turned into multiple generations of keyboard covers and Apple Pencils. — Vlad Savov, The Verge, "Google keeps failing to understand tablets," 29 Nov. 2018 While there are strong rumors that Samsung will be shipping the Note 9 with an updated Bluetooth powered stylus, the Galaxy Tab S4 ships with the same dumb S-Pen. — Michael Simon, PCWorld, "Samsung's Galaxy Tab S4 is a work-first tablet built to take on the iPad Pro and Surface Laptop," 1 Aug. 2018 The technique has remained largely the same: Designs are applied using beeswax and a stylus, then dipped and sometimes dyed again. — Arricca Elin Sansone, Country Living, "The History of Easter Eggs and Why They're Decorated," 25 Feb. 2019 Creative types can scribble, paint and do other activities requiring precision right on the screen itself with a new Apple Pencil stylus ($130) that magnetically attaches to the edge of the screen. — Geoffrey A. Fowler, The Seattle Times, "Apple redesigns the iPad Pro, breathes new life in the MacBook Air," 30 Oct. 2018 While the Samsung Notebook 9 Pro does ship with a Samsung Active Pen stylus, there doesn’t seem to be any built-in holster to store it in, unlike the related Samsung Notebook 9 Pen laptop. — Mark Hachman, PCWorld, "Samsung's stylish Notebook 9 Pro adds Intel's Whiskey Lake CPU and Thunderbolt ports," 7 Jan. 2019 The first is the Note-iest thing about it—the S Pen stylus. — David Pierce, WSJ, "Samsung’s Galaxy Note 9 Is Crazy Powerful. Can You Handle It?," 19 Aug. 2018 Samsung’s latest Galaxy Note 9 has a nifty new feature: for the first time, the S Pen stylus has Bluetooth and can be charged instantly using a supercapacitor. — Angela Chen, The Verge, "Supercapacitors power the Note 9 stylus — but are they ready to replace batteries?," 17 Aug. 2018 Its biggest update is compatibility with the company’s Apple Pencil stylus, allowing users to digitally write and draw on the screen. — Don Reisinger, Fortune, "Apple Unveils Updated iPad Touted for Students As a Possible New Apple Watch Looms," 31 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'stylus.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.