stylus

noun

sty·​lus ˈstī-ləs 

plural styli ˈstī(-ə)-ˌlī  also styluses ˈstī-lə-səz 

: an instrument for writing, marking, or incising: such as

a

: an instrument used by the ancients in writing on clay or waxed tablets

b

: a hard-pointed pen-shaped instrument for marking on stencils used in a reproducing machine

c(1)

: needle sense 3c

(2)

: a cutting tool used to produce an original record groove during disc recording

d

: a pen-shaped pointing device used for entering data (such as positional information from a graphics tablet) into a computer

Examples of stylus in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Windows 11 is still an appalling tablet OS with a crippling lack of touch-friendly apps, and the stylus has an irritating input lag that makes scribbling on screen unsatisfactory. —Barry Collins, Forbes, 14 Dec. 2024

These tablets use a special pen-like stylus to allow the user to hand-draw or paint images, animations and graphics. —Nora Colomer, Fox News, 6 Dec. 2024

This one has the S Pen stylus built in, not to mention the 5X optical zoom, and the titanium build. —Simon Hill, WIRED, 30 Nov. 2024

Enjoy low latency between the stylus and your tablet screen, tilt sensitivity for shading and creating other effects, and Apple Pencil hover for previewing marks. —Stackcommerce Team (sponsored), PCMAG, 22 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin stylus, stilus spike, stylus — more at style

First Known Use

1773, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

stylus

noun

sty·​lus ˈstī-ləs 

plural styli ˈstī(ə)l-ˌī  also styluses ˈstī-lə-səz 

1

: an instrument used by the ancients for writing on wax tablets

2

: needle entry 1 sense 4

Medical Definition

stylus

noun

sty·​lus

variants also stilus

ˈstī-ləs 

plural styli ˈstī(ə)l-ˌī  also styluses ˈstī-lə-səz  or stili or stiluses

: an instrument for writing, marking, or incising: as

a

: a hard-pointed instrument for punching the dots in writing braille with a braille slate

b

: a device that traces a recording (as of an electrocardiograph) on paper