Meanings
plural pencil pushers · alternative pencil-pusher
- derogatoryinformaloftenOne who does routine office work; someone involved mainly in paperwork.
The internal investigator for the Macon Police Department had the dour, lifeless personality of a career pencil pusher.
2013, Karin Slaughter, Busted, Random House, →ISBN1 more example
“[…] I don't have her creative genius or her version. I'm a numbers man, like my father. A pencil pusher, as Amanda said.” With no balls, he added silently.
2012, Danielle Steel, The Sins of the Mother, Random House, →ISBN, page 285Synonyms: office worker, bureaucrat, desk jockey, paper-pusher, pen-pusher
Synonyms & antonyms
nounOne who does routine office work; someone involved mainly in paperwork.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
US origin, 1881.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian писар
- писар (pisar)one who does office work
Catalan pixatinters
- pixatintersone who does office work
Chinese Mandarin 管帳員 /管帐员
- 管帳員 /管帐员 (guǎnzhàngyuán)one who does office work
Czech kancelářská krysa
- kancelářská krysaone who does office work
Danish ni-til-femmer, papirnusser
- ni-til-femmerone who does office work
- papirnusserone who does office work
Estonian paberimäärija
- paberimäärijaone who does office work
Finnish kynänpyörittäjä, konttorirotta
- kynänpyörittäjäone who does office work
- konttorirottaone who does office work
French gratte-papier
- gratte-papierone who does office work
German Bleistiftstemmer, Sesselfurzer
- Bleistiftstemmerone who does office work
- Sesselfurzerone who does office work
- Bürohengstone who does office work
Italian scribbacchino
- scribbacchinoone who does office work
Japanese サラリーマン
- サラリーマンone who does office work
Norwegian kontorrotte
- kontorrotteone who does office work
Polish gryzipiórek, biurokrata
- gryzipiórekone who does office work
- biurokrataone who does office work
- zarękawekone who does office work
- urzędasone who does office work
Romanian conțopist, scriptolog
- conțopistone who does office work
- scriptologone who does office work
Slovak kancelárska krysa
- kancelárska krysaone who does office work
Spanish chupatintas, cagatintas
- chupatintasone who does office work
- cagatintasone who does office work
- tinterilloone who does office work
- plumíferoone who does office work
Swedish kontorsråtta
- kontorsråttaone who does office work
Cite this entry
pencil pusher. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pencil%20pusher
“pencil pusher.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pencil%20pusher. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pencil pusher,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pencil%20pusher.
Source: pencil pusher on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.