pencil out

verb

Of an investment, to make sense financially or to be expected to generate the desired returns.

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Meanings

verbpencil out (third-person singular simple present pencils out, present participle (US) penciling out or (UK) pencilling out, simple past and past participle (US) penciled out or (UK) pencilled out)

present singular third person pencils out · US participle present penciling out · UK participle present pencilling out · US participle past penciled out · US past penciled out · UK participle past pencilled out · UK past pencilled out

  1. businessOf an investment, to make sense financially or to be expected to generate the desired returns.
  2. businessTo roughly calculate the expected returns of an investment.

Origin

From pencil + out (possibly based on or influenced by work out), the idea being that rough calculations are temporarily written in pencil rather than permanently written in pen.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

pencil out. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pencil%20out

MLA

“pencil out.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pencil%20out. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pencil out,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pencil%20out.

Source: pencil out on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.