propelling pencil
The standard British English term for a mechanical pencil — a pencil with a mechanism that advances the lead when a button or barrel is turned.
Definitions
The standard British English term for a mechanical pencil — a pencil with a mechanism that advances the lead when a button or barrel is turned. 'Propelling pencil' is the conventional British term; North American English uses 'mechanical pencil.' The term accurately describes how the pencil works.
She always used a propelling pencil for exams so she could erase without smudging.
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(UK) A mechanical pencil.
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🇬🇧About British & Irish slang slang
UK and Irish slang — Cockney, Scouse, Geordie, Yorkshire, Glaswegian, Brummie, Welsh, West Country, plus Irish English. Centuries of regional dialects feeding into modern British and Irish street talk.
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(North America) A writing instrument with a replaceable, mechanically extendable graphite lead that eliminates the need for sharpening.
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An Indian English term for a mechanical pencil — the kind with a thin lead that clicks or twists out of a metal or plastic barrel rather than needing sharpening. The name reflects a common naming pattern in Indian English where a newer or more sophisticated version of a familiar object gets the prefix of something pen-like. Pen pencil is completely standard and widely understood across India, often preferred in schools and offices for its precision and neatness.
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(India) A mechanical pencil.
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