blue-pen·cil
ˈblü-ˈpen(t)-səl 
blue-penciled; blue-penciling; blue-pencils
: to edit especially by shortening or deletion
blue penciller
noun
: a writing instrument used for editing
also
: the act or practice of blue-penciling
Examples of blue-pencil in a Sentence
Verb
military censors blue-penciled any remarks that could possibly be deemed critical
Recent Examples on the Web
Thomas Doherty, HollywoodReporter, 20 Apr. 2025
Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Mar. 2025
All of these details, which are not about the largesse of Broadway, take the music to its roots, when Sondheim’s massive collection of blue pencils were crafting some of the most consequential compositions in musical theater history.
—David John Chávez, The Mercury News, 13 June 2024
That expression—blue pencil—refers to a judge rewriting terms of a contract, and a class action settlement is a contract.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 3 Sep. 2019
Stalin’s blue pencil, unlike that of other editors, glided across not just poetry chapbooks and literary journals but life itself.
—Aaron Lake Smith, Harper's magazine, 24 June 2019
But a blue pencil is as strong as a sword, and more cut and thrust would have made this book sharper.
—Laura Jacobs, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2018
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.
Verb
Before getting sunk by a turgid love story — the kind of cinematic dead zone Thalberg would have blue-penciled in the screenplay stage — The Last Tycoon provides a good sense of what a producer actually does.
—Thomas Doherty, HollywoodReporter, 20 Apr. 2025
Noun
Watch a basketball game and edit it by hand, with a blue pencil, instead of AI.
—Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Mar. 2025
All of these details, which are not about the largesse of Broadway, take the music to its roots, when Sondheim’s massive collection of blue pencils were crafting some of the most consequential compositions in musical theater history.
—David John Chávez, The Mercury News, 13 June 2024
That expression—blue pencil—refers to a judge rewriting terms of a contract, and a class action settlement is a contract.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 3 Sep. 2019
Stalin’s blue pencil, unlike that of other editors, glided across not just poetry chapbooks and literary journals but life itself.
—Aaron Lake Smith, Harper's magazine, 24 June 2019
But a blue pencil is as strong as a sword, and more cut and thrust would have made this book sharper.
—Laura Jacobs, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2018
Cite this Entry
“Blue-pencil.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blue-pencil. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share