🖊️ A writing tool 🐖 An animal enclosure 🚔 A prison ✍️ To write 👶 A play enclosure 🦢 A female swan

pen

2 2.8

A small area with sides that keep babies safe while they play

noun
/pɛn/

: corralito

Tamborel made for the baby's pen.
a pen for babies
play in the pen
portable pen

A human immediately says playpen, but how does the human know playpen not fountain pen or penitentiary or pigpen.

Examples

The children played happily in the small pen filled with toys and soft surfaces.
And there was Morton squealing awful high-pitched sounds, running from one edge of the pen to the other.

Fiction book (1992)
- And the tiger knows to go through the tunnel and into the holding pen.

The Last Showgirl (2024)
- Uh, she means the kiddie pen.

Another Thin Man (1939)
I personally prefer exercise pens for puppies and have had excellent results.

Blog text (29)
Just like before, all the other puppies were adopted and Amber's daily visits were spent playing with Shadow, who was again alone in the puppy pen.

Baby Bulldog (2020)
A yard or so away, the baby lay sleeping in a child pen, shaded by her own small canopy decked with streamers.

Fiction book (1993)
DAYS PASSED, AND ELLIE'S DEER STAYED WITHIN THE CONFINES OF THE PEN.

Cross Creek (1983)
To keep the puppies safe, she set up a pen in the backyard where they could play.
He built a sturdy pen to keep his rabbits secure while they explored the garden.

Synonyms

playpen

vspen

14 1.2

A small fenced area where a baby or young child can play safely

is the shorter general word for the same enclosure

Idioms

to dip one's pen in someone else's inkwell

Archaic

9.9

To use someone else's ideas without giving them credit

Compounds

pen pal

23 2.9

A person in another country you write letters to and become friends with

pen name

10 3.5

A name an author uses instead of their real name when publishing

fountain pen

10 3.1

A pen with a built-in ink holder that lets ink flow to the tip

ballpoint pen

8 1.0

A writing pen with a small metal ball in the tip that rolls ink onto paper

holding pen

4 3.1

A small fenced area where farmers keep animals before moving them

veto pen

3 7.5

A pen a president or governor uses to officially reject a law

pen-and-ink

2 5.5

A drawing made with pen and ink that shows lines and shading without color

quill pen

Archaic

2 8.1

A writing tool made from a bird's feather that you dip in ink to write

felt-tip pen

1 2.1

A pen with a soft felt tip for writing or drawing

felt-tipped pen

1 3.0

A tool for writing or drawing with a soft tip that makes bold lines

cattle pen

1 2.1

An enclosure for keeping cattle like cows and bulls

sheep pen

1 1.2

A fenced area where a farmer keeps sheep

light pen

Archaic

1 5.6

A handheld tool that you use on a computer screen to point or draw

pen-pusher

Offensive

1 7.9

A person who does simple office paperwork and little creative work

poison-pen letter

NSFW

1 8.5

An anonymous letter that says cruel things to hurt someone

cow pen

1 1.6

A fenced area where farmers keep cows

pen nib

1 4.1

The small pointed metal tip of a pen that puts ink on paper

sea pen

Specialized

1 9.8

A marine animal like a feather made of many tiny animals on the sea floor

poison pen letter

1 7.6

An unsigned angry letter written to hurt or insult someone

slip of the pen

Informal

1 3.8

A small mistake made when writing by accident

catch pen

Specialized

1 6.3

A small fenced area that holds animals like sheep or cattle for a short time

pen mouse

1 5.7

A small wireless tool shaped like a pen that moves the computer pointer for drawing and precise work

pen-friend

1 3.2

A person you write to and know only by letters, often never meeting

catching pen

Jargon

5.5

A small fenced area for holding animals briefly to sort or check them

fineliner pen

3.8

A pen with a very thin felt tip that draws precise lines for writing or drawing

knight of the pen

Archaic

9.9

A respected writer known for great books or articles

pen-tailed tree shrew

9.9

A small brown mammal from Malaysia with a bare tail and long stiff hairs at the tip

pen-tail

9.9

A small brown tree shrew from Malaysia with a bare tail fringed by stiff hairs at the tip

How Enclosed

crib

55 1.0

pen

2 2.8

yard

773 1.0

Surface Forms

pen singular

pens plural

Etymology

Pen comes from the same old word penn meaning 'enclosed place', and was used for any small safe area. So a baby pen is a portable enclosed space to keep small children safe.