PEN (penned, penning, pent)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: penned    , penning    , pent   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does pen mean? 

• PEN (noun)
  The noun PEN has 5 senses:

1. a writing implement with a point from which ink flows

2. an enclosure for confining livestock

3. a portable enclosure in which babies may be left to play

4. a correctional institution for those convicted of major crimes

5. female swan

  Familiarity information: PEN used as a noun is common.

• PEN (verb)
  The verb PEN has 1 sense:

1. produce a literary work

  Familiarity information: PEN used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PEN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A writing implement with a point from which ink flows

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("pen" is a kind of...):

writing implement (an implement that is used to write)

Meronyms (parts of "pen"):

nib; pen nib (the writing point of a pen)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pen"):

felt-tip pen; felt-tipped pen; felt tip; Magic Marker (a pen with a writing tip made of felt (trade name Magic Marker))

fountain pen (a pen that is supplied with ink from a reservoir in its barrel)

quill; quill pen (pen made from a bird's feather)

Sharpie (a pen with indelible ink that will write on any surface)

ballpen; ballpoint; ballpoint pen; Biro (a pen that has a small metal ball as the point of transfer of ink to paper)

Derivation:

pen (produce a literary work)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An enclosure for confining livestock

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("pen" is a kind of...):

enclosure (a structure consisting of an area that has been enclosed for some purpose)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pen"):

pinfold (a pen where stray animals are confined)

pigpen; pigsty; sty (a pen for swine)

rodeo (an enclosure for cattle that have been rounded up)

paddock (pen where racehorses are saddled and paraded before a race)

kraal (a pen for livestock in southern Africa)

holding paddock; holding pen; holding yard (a pen where livestock is temporarily confined)

fold; sheep pen; sheepcote; sheepfold (a pen for sheep)

creep (a pen that is fenced so that young animals can enter but adults cannot)

cattle pen; corral; cow pen (a pen for cattle)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A portable enclosure in which babies may be left to play

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

pen; playpen

Hypernyms ("pen" is a kind of...):

enclosure (a structure consisting of an area that has been enclosed for some purpose)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A correctional institution for those convicted of major crimes

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

pen; penitentiary

Hypernyms ("pen" is a kind of...):

correctional institution (a penal institution maintained by the government)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Female swan

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("pen" is a kind of...):

swan (stately heavy-bodied aquatic bird with very long neck and usually white plumage as adult)

• PEN (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they pen    ... he / she / it pens   
Past simple: penned   
Past participle: penned   
-ing form: penning   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Produce a literary work

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Synonyms:

compose; indite; pen; write

Context example:

He wrote four novels

Hypernyms (to "pen" is one way to...):

create verbally (create with or from words)

"Pen" entails doing...:

spell; write (write or name the letters that comprise the conventionally accepted form of (a word or part of a word))

Domain category:

authorship; composition; penning; writing (the act of creating written works)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "pen"):

script (write a script for)

write out; write up (put into writing; write in complete form)

cite; reference (refer to)

annotate; footnote (add explanatory notes to or supply with critical comments)

author (be the author of)

poetise; poetize; verse; versify (compose verses or put into verse)

draft; outline (draw up an outline or sketch for something)

adopt; dramatise; dramatize (put into dramatic form)

write copy (write for commercial publications)

rewrite (rewrite so as to make fit to suit a new or different purpose)

dash off; fling off; knock off; scratch off; toss off (write quickly)

write off (write something fluently, and without hesitation)

paragraph (write about in a paragraph)

paragraph (write paragraphs; work as a paragrapher)

profile (write about)

write about; write of; write on (write about a particular topic)

lyric (write lyrics for (a song))

draw (write a legal document or paper)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

Did he pen his major works over a short period of time?

Derivation:

pen (a writing implement with a point from which ink flows)

penning (the act of creating written works)

 Context examples 

She was particularly proud of her turn for business; and she showed it now in reducing everything to pen and ink, and being moved by nothing.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Or again, he would be in the pen of Beauty Smith.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

So far the letter had run composedly enough, but here with a sudden splutter of the pen, the writer’s emotion had broken loose.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Gradually he worked Jim back into an angle of the ropes from which there was no escape, and then, when he had him fairly penned, he sprang upon him like a tiger.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

But over-strained eyes caused pen and ink to be laid aside for a bold attempt at poker-sketching.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

It is a woman’s writing, done with a sharp-pointed pen, but the address is either done with another pen or by someone else.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I am afraid you do not like your pen.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

A device that has the shape of a cigarette, cigar, or pen and does not contain tobacco.

(E-cigarette, NCI Dictionary)

Holmes rose and sat down at the table with his pen in his hand and a bundle of paper before him.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Glutamine group members were also somewhat less aggressive in pens with mixed litters than those given the antibiotic.

(Antibiotic Alternative Scores Well in Second Round of Swine Trials, U.S. Department of Agriculture)