stencil

1 of 2

noun

sten·​cil ˈsten(t)-səl How to pronounce stencil (audio)
1
: an impervious material (such as a sheet of paper, thin wax, or woven fabric) perforated with lettering or a design through which a substance (such as ink, paint, or metallic powder) is forced onto a surface to be printed
2
: something (such as a pattern, design, or print) that is produced by means of a stencil
3
: a printing process that uses a stencil

stencil

2 of 2

verb

stenciled or stencilled; stenciling or stencilling ˈsten(t)-s(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce stencil (audio)

transitive verb

1
: to mark or paint with a stencil
2
: to produce by stencil
stenciler noun
or stenciller

Examples of stencil in a Sentence

Noun The walls of the living room had a delicate vine stencil drawn on them. Verb We stenciled the room's walls.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Other versions of the stencil soon began popping up throughout the city. Julia Binswanger, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Sep. 2024 Simply place the stencil against your eyelid, follow the guidelines, and fill in your eyeliner. Hyphensocial Contributors, Rolling Stone, 20 Sep. 2024
Verb
For example, the beamed ceiling of our room was elaborately stenciled by hand, but the king-size bed was pure modern luxury. Jeanne O'Brien Coffey, Forbes, 1 Oct. 2024 There's also painted and stenciled ceilings, trim with gold, silver and bronze leaf, and eight-sided motifs in the plasterwork, woodwork and etched glass. Jeanne Muchnick, USA TODAY, 6 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for stencil 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stencil.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

probably ultimately from Middle English stanseld brightly ornamented, from Anglo-French estencelé spangled, past participle of estenceler to sparkle, from estencele spark, from Vulgar Latin *stincilla, alteration of Latin scintilla

First Known Use

Noun

1707, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

circa 1828, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of stencil was in 1707

Dictionary Entries Near stencil

Cite this Entry

“Stencil.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stencil. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

stencil

1 of 2 noun
sten·​cil ˈsten(t)-səl How to pronounce stencil (audio)
1
: a piece of material (as a sheet of paper) with lettering or a design that is cut out and through which ink or paint is forced onto a surface to be printed
2
: a design or print produced with a stencil

stencil

2 of 2 verb
stenciled or stencilled; stenciling or stencilling
-s(ə-)liŋ
1
: to paint with a stencil
2
: to produce by a stencil

More from Merriam-Webster on stencil

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!