color-pencil
/ˈkʌl.ə ˌpen.səl/ IELTSAcademic
noun
A pencil with a colored core used for drawing or colouring. It is usually sold with other pencils in a set.
- She drew the flowers with a color-pencil.
- I need a blue color-pencil for this sketch.
Adinary Nuance
A color-pencil is a pencil made for colouring or drawing, not for writing normal text. It is closer to a crayon than to an ordinary pencil, but it still has a pencil shape. In British English, people more often say colouring pencil or colored pencil.
In other languages
- Vietnamese
- bút màu
- Spanish
- lápiz de color
- Chinese
- 彩色铅笔
- Japanese
- 色鉛筆
- Korean
- 색연필
Etymology
This is a modern compound of color and pencil in English. The word reflects the tool’s use for colouring, especially in school and art contexts.
Common phrases
a box of color-pencilsset of color-pencilsdraw with color-pencils
Synonyms
Related words
Frequently asked questions
- Is color-pencil the same as a normal pencil?
- No. A color-pencil is for drawing or colouring, not for writing in graphite.
- Is color-pencil common in Indian English?
- Yes, people understand it, especially in school contexts and shopping.
- What is the British English word for color-pencil?
- British English often uses colouring pencil or coloured pencil.