pen

1 of 8

verb (1)

ˈpen 

penned; penning

transitive verb

: to shut in or as if in a pen

The cattle were penned behind a wooden fence.

pen

2 of 8

noun (1)

1

a

: a small enclosure for animals

b

: the animals in a pen

a pen of sheep

2

: a small place of confinement or storage

3

: a protected dock or slip for a submarine

4

: bullpen sense 2

pen

3 of 8

noun (2)

1

: an implement for writing or drawing with ink or a similar fluid: such as

a

: quill

b

: pen point

c

: a penholder containing a pen point

d

: fountain pen

e

: ballpoint pen

2

a

: a writing instrument regarded as a means of expression

enlisted the pens of the best writers

—F. H. Chase

b

: writer

3

: the internal horny feather-shaped shell of a squid

4

: stylus sense d

5

: a medical device for injecting drugs that resembles a fountain pen, contains a cartridge prefilled with usually several doses of medication, and when designed for multiple injections has a needle that is replaced after each use

insulin pens

People accidentally exposed to a food culprit can use the pen to inject themselves with a dose of epinephrine—also known as adrenaline—to avoid a severe allergic reaction.

—Walecia Konrad

pen

4 of 8

verb (2)

penned; penning

transitive verb

: write, indite

pen a letter

pen

5 of 8

noun (3)

: a female swan

pen

6 of 8

noun (4)

: penitentiary

pen

7 of 8

abbreviation (1)

peninsula

PEN

8 of 8

abbreviation (2)

International Association of Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists and Novelists

Synonyms

Verb (1)

• box (in)
• cage
• closet
• coop (up)
• corral
• encage
• encase
• enclose
• inclose
• envelop
• fence (in)
• hedge
• hem (in)
• house
• immure
• include
• mew (up)
• wall (in)

Noun (1)

• cage
• coop
• corral
• hutch
• pound

Noun (2)

• author
• litterateur
• littérateur
• penman
• scribe
• scrivener
• writer

Verb (2)

• author
• scratch (out)
• scribble
• write

Noun (4)

• bastille
• big house [slang]
• bridewell
• brig
• calaboose
• can
• clink [slang]
• cooler
• coop
• guardroom
• hock
• hold
• hoosegow
• jail
• jailhouse
• joint [slang]
• jug
• lockup
• nick [British slang]
• penitentiary
• pokey [slang]
• prison
• quod [British slang]
• slam
• slammer
• stir [slang]
• stockade
• tolbooth [Scottish]

Examples of pen in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

As the story shifts between Grant’s arduous final days penning his memoirs and scenes from his life as war hero and president, a portrait emerges of realization, regret, and newfound humility. —Staff, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 Nov. 2023

Another approach: pen a sweet letter to read aloud that your better half can later hold onto as a keepsake. WATCH Our bad! —Boutayna Chokrane, Vogue, 20 Nov. 2023

Starz has picked up the U.S. and Canada rights to Mary & George, an historical psychodrama starring Julianne Moore and Nicholas Galitzine and created and penned by Killing Eve writer D.C. Moore. —Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Nov. 2023

Related On the red carpet for the Hollywood premiere of the latest Hunger Games installment Monday (Nov. 13), Rodrigo revealed that penning the soundtrack centerpiece was actually more difficult than writing, say, the songs on her chart-topping albums Sour and Guts. —Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 14 Nov. 2023

Will later penned a children’s book of the same name based on his own relationship with his firstborn. —Alex Gurley, Peoplemag, 14 Nov. 2023

In May, Price penned a personal essay for Rolling Stone on gun control following the Covenant shooting. —Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 9 Nov. 2023

Despite signing the letter penned by the Future of Life Institute, just four months later Musk announced the formation of xAI which itself was tasked with creating an advanced LLM to rival ChatGPT. —Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 6 Nov. 2023

In a tribute to her husband on their 25th wedding anniversary in 2021, The Pioneer Woman star penned a loving homage to her husband. —Audrey Schmidt, Peoplemag, 4 Nov. 2023

Noun

On Tuesday, the Argentina players eventually returned, after police corralled the visiting fans in a pen and the match started after a lengthy delay. —Reuters, NBC News, 22 Nov. 2023

My family breaks out pen and paper for this very serious session—others might even prefer a spreadsheet. —Li Goldstein, Bon Appétit, 18 Nov. 2023

Gabe’s katana-sharp pen takes inspiration from Ka’s writing without ever feeling like swagger-jacking. —Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 17 Nov. 2023

Vape pens on the market can contain 40-80% THC, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. —Stephanie Brown, Verywell Health, 15 Nov. 2023

Organize your workspace Keep all essentials nearby, such as chargers, notebooks, and pens. —Patricia Doherty, Travel + Leisure, 13 Nov. 2023

Find the spot where the string (or thread, or floss) meets itself and mark it with a pen. —Gia Yetikyel, Vogue, 10 Nov. 2023

Björk’s connection to the cause clicked with immediate serendipity, and, in September, her sense of urgency worsened when one company discovered that 3,500 fish had made their way out of its pens and into the fjords. —Allison Hussey, Pitchfork, 5 Nov. 2023

They were ringed by a half-moon of reporters, all silent, all holding pens over notebooks. —Elizabeth Lopatto, The Verge, 3 Nov. 2023

See More

Word History

Etymology

Verb (1)

Middle English pennen, from Old English -pennian

Noun (1)

Middle English, perhaps from pennen

Noun (2)

Middle English penne, from Anglo-French, feather, pen, from Latin penna, pinna feather; akin to Greek pteron wing — more at feather

Noun (3)

origin unknown

First Known Use

Verb (1)

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (2)

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (3)

circa 1550, in the meaning defined above

Noun (4)

1881, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing pen

• pen name
• bull pen
• pen friend
• light pen
• pen in
• pen pal
• pen point
• pen up
• poison-pen letter
• fountain pen
• felt-tip pen
• poison-pen
• put pen to paper
• put/set pen to paper
• the pen
• with a (single) stroke of a/the/his/her pen
• sea pen
• pen pusher
• ballpoint pen

See More

• pen name
• bull pen
• pen friend
• light pen
• pen in
• pen pal
• pen point
• pen up
• poison-pen letter
• fountain pen
• felt-tip pen
• poison-pen
• put pen to paper
• put/set pen to paper
• the pen
• with a (single) stroke of a/the/his/her pen
• sea pen
• pen pusher
• ballpoint pen

See More

Kids Definition

pen

1 of 5 noun

ˈpen 

1

: a small enclosure for animals

2

: a small place of confinement or storage

pen

2 of 5 verb

penned; penning

: to shut in a pen

pen

3 of 5 noun

: an instrument for writing or drawing with ink

pen

4 of 5 verb

penned; penning

: to write especially with a pen

pen

5 of 5 noun

slang

: penitentiary

Etymology

Noun

Middle English

Noun

Middle English penne "a writing instrument made from a bird's feather," from early French penne "a bird's feather, pen," from Latin penna, pinna "feather"

Noun

a shortened form of penitentiary

Word Origin

The words pen and pencil look very much alike, and the writing instruments themselves have much in common. But these two words are not at all related. Pen can be traced back to the Latin word penna or pinna, meaning "feather." The early pens were made of long feathers trimmed to a point to hold ink. In time, pens came to be made with metal points and later with rolling balls instead of points. For this reason we no longer associate the word pen with feathers. Pencil can be traced to the Latin word penicillus, which meant "little tail" or "brush." (It also gave us our word penicillin.) The first pencils were artists' brushes that had fine hairs drawn to a point, like the tail of a tiny animal. From these first pencils, used for painting fine lines, the word came to be used for other instruments used to draw marks. Some pencils were sticks of charcoal. Others were sticks of slate or lead. Still others were sticks of colored material like crayons. In time, we began using our modern wood and graphite pencils, which are not at all like the original "little tails."

Medical Definition

pen

noun

ˈpen 

: a medical device for injecting drugs that resembles a fountain pen, contains a cartridge prefilled with usually several doses of medication, and when designed for multiple injections has a needle that is replaced after each use

Note: Medical pens are either disposable or reusable depending on whether the cartridge can be removed and replaced with a new prefilled one.

In type 1 diabetes, the pancreas can no longer produce insulin and patients must give themselves multiple daily injections with insulin pens or syringes …

—The Republican (Springfield, Massachusetts)

Illinois law allows schools to keep epinephrine pens around, and nurses or trained staff are allowed to use them in an emergency.

—Mike Riopell, The Chicago Daily Herald