ballpoint pen

noun

ball·​point pen ˈbȯl-ˌpȯint- How to pronounce ballpoint pen (audio)
variants or less commonly ballpoint
: a pen having as the writing point a small rotating metal ball that inks itself by contact with an inner magazine

Examples of ballpoint pen in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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On his palm, faintly visible, were two sets of phone numbers scribbled with a ballpoint pen. Amitava Kumar, The New Yorker, 8 Mar. 2025 Determined to learn the scope of the thefts, Mr. Hirsch, who uses a cane and struggles to walk long distances, returned last month to tally all the missing markers, recording them in a small notebook with a ballpoint pen. Maria Cramer, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2025 For the occasion, the other women had put her hair in a bun and used a ballpoint pen for eyeliner. Lawrence Wright, The New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2025 After all, every stain is the remainder of a moment now gone—in the case of an ink stain, a moment in which the careful handling of a ballpoint pen or permanent marker was clearly not priority number one. Christina Pérez, Vogue, 10 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for ballpoint pen

Word History

First Known Use

1953, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ballpoint pen was in 1953

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Cite this Entry

“Ballpoint pen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ballpoint%20pen. Accessed 14 Mar. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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