pencil in

phrasal verb

penciled in or pencilled in; penciling in or pencilling in; pencils in
: to put (someone or something that may be changed later) on a schedule, list, etc.
Would you like me to pencil you in for Thursday morning at 11?
sometimes used figuratively
He was penciled in as the director's replacement.

Examples of pencil in in a Sentence

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Three officials penciled in three rate reductions next year. Yun Li, CNBC, 17 Sep. 2025 The Wild enter training camp with Joel Eriksson Ek, Marco Rossi, Ryan Hartman and Nico Sturm penciled in as their top-four centers, so Yurov could start as a wing. Michael Russo, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025 As the Sons occupy a government building, Chris springs into action, saving a hostage while killing militant after militant with fists, a copy machine, and — in the most memorably violent use of a writing utensil in a DC Comics adaptation since The Dark Knight — two pencils in the ears. Scott Meslow, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025 Always with a pencil in hand, Corso would comically tease his fellow pickers - the hosts, analysts, and celebrities who were part of the show. Stephanie Gallman Jordan, Southern Living, 28 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for pencil in

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Cite this Entry

“Pencil in.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pencil%20in. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.

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