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 stylus itself has gotten something of a revamp, with a new unibody shell and a slightly more ergonomic design. — Michael Simon, PCWorld, "Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ hands-on: A new model changes the game, for better or worse," 7 Aug. 2019 And the Note’s most famous detachable feature, the S-Pen stylus, is evolving. — Washington Post, "Galaxy Note10 hands on: What Samsung’s $950 big new phone adds — and takes away," 7 Aug. 2019 Originally, the definition of magnitude related to seismograms, in which machines used an ink stylus to record rapid motions on a rolling drum of paper that would measure shaking. — Rong-gong Lin Ii, latimes.com, "Ridgecrest earthquake was intense. Exactly how strong was it?," 4 July 2019 The video shows that the new Tab will once again come with an S Pen stylus, and a keyboard cover will at least be an optional upgrade if not the default. — Anna Washenko, Ars Technica, "Samsung to unpack new Galaxy Tab and Galaxy Watch over the next week," 30 July 2019 Looking at Muddy Waters’s Telecaster is like getting to see Sophocles’s stylus. — Mark Feeney, BostonGlobe.com, "Guitars, stars, and attitude," 11 July 2019 Just as smartphones started off with plastic resistive displays and stylus input, before the iPhone showed that capacitive touch on glass was the future, this foldable era will include compromises before the technology advances. — Tom Warren, The Verge, "The foldable phones are coming," 8 Nov. 2018 Alongside the tablet refresh, Apple introduced the first major update to the Apple Pencil since the stylus debuted in 2015 alongside the original iPad Pro. — Valentina Palladino, Ars Technica, "Adieu, home button—Apple’s new iPad Pros have nearly edge-to-edge screens, FaceID," 30 Oct. 2018 The stylus, when inserted back into the phone, fully recharges within 40 seconds. — Timothy W. Martin, WSJ, "Samsung Introduces Galaxy Note 9, a Smartphone Strikingly Like Its Predecessor," 9 Aug. 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.