pencil pusher

noun

: a person who does predominantly paperwork

Examples of pencil pusher in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
It’s also got an amazing cast of pencil pushers who go over the edge trying to save their own lives by taking the lives of others, see: John Gallagher Jr., Tony Goldwyn, Adria Arjona, John C. McGinley, and more. 15. Jordan Crucchiola, Vulture, 12 Oct. 2024 Legacy operators are being nudged out by pencil pushers and industrious Yemeni tobacco-shop owners. Jay Bulger, Rolling Stone, 13 Aug. 2024 This might sound normal for your typical office worker, stuck at home during the pandemic, but Wolfe is no pencil pusher. Andrew Weaver, Outside Online, 3 July 2020

Word History

First Known Use

1881, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pencil pusher was in 1881

Dictionary Entries Near pencil pusher

Cite this Entry

“Pencil pusher.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pencil%20pusher. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!