Pencil Lead (Noun)
Meaning
Mixture of graphite with clay in different degrees of hardness; the marking substance in a pencil.
Classification
Nouns denoting man-made objects.
Examples
- The pencil lead in the 6B pencil was soft and produced a dark, wide line.
- When sharpening the pencil, be careful not to break the fragile pencil lead.
- Most standard pencils contain pencil lead made from a mixture of graphite and clay.
- Pencil lead can range in hardness from the softest (9B) to the hardest (9H) depending on the desired application.
- Before mass production, pencil lead was encased in a wooden holder, creating a simple pencil.