ballpoint pen
8
1.0
- noun
- /ˈbɔlˌpɔɪnt pɛn/
:
bolígrafo
- She signed the contract using a blue ballpoint pen to ensure the ink would be clear and legible.
- use a ballpoint pen
There are black ballpoint pens on the table.
- There are black ballpoint pens on the table.
- Podcast and you wrote with a, you know, ballpoint pen on a hard surface.
- I grabbed A ballpoint pen and I just traced over the whole signature just very neatly.
Examples
-
In fact, the document is written in blue ballpoint pen on yellow legal pad paper.
Academic text (2007) -
On the brown envelope, the name Ariel Fledermaus was written with a ballpoint pen.
Fiction book (1998) -
It's a normal ballpoint pen.
-
The sheriff picked up a ballpoint pen and began clicking it.
Fiction book (1991) -
There are black ballpoint pens on the table.
-
Struggling to sit up, she began to write slowly with a ballpoint pen on a little memo pad.
Fiction book (1996) -
He is the fellow who invented the ballpoint pen.
-
I was writing with a ballpoint pen on a lined notepad perched on my lap.
Fiction book (2000) -
With a ballpoint pen and straightedge, trace over the three dashed fold lines, pressing to score them.
Academic text (2007) -
I prefer using ballpoint pen over like a gel pen or a fine liner because I'm always paranoid that it's going to smear.
Synonyms
508
1.0
A tool for writing with ink
14
1.0
A pen that puts ink on paper with a small metal ball at the tip
8
3.1
A pen with a built-in ink holder that lets ink flow to the tip
2
2.8
A pen with a small metal ball at the tip that rolls ink onto paper
1
3.0
A tool for writing or drawing with a soft tip that makes bold lines
A pen with a small metal ball at the tip that rolls and puts ink on paper
A pen with a very thin felt tip that draws precise lines for writing or drawing
How Precise
8
3.1
8
1.0
1
3.2
17
1.0
57
1.1
66
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a pen that uses a small rotating ball to transfer ink' is directly and compositionally derivable from 'ballpoint' (a ball-based tip) + 'pen' (writing instrument). This noun–noun compound follows a straightforward and cross-linguistically common naming pattern, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
The name ballpoint pen comes from the small metal ball at its point that rolls and carries ink onto the paper as you write. That's why the name means 'a pen that uses a small rolling ball to put ink on paper'.