plural styli
ˈstī(-ə)-ˌlī 
also styluses
ˈstī-lə-səz
also styluses
ˈstī-lə-səz
: an instrument for writing, marking, or incising: such as
a
: an instrument used by the ancients in writing on clay or waxed tablets
b
: a hard-pointed pen-shaped instrument for marking on stencils used in a reproducing machine
c(1)
(2)
: a cutting tool used to produce an original record groove during disc recording
d
: a pen-shaped pointing device used for entering data (such as positional information from a graphics tablet) into a computer
Examples of stylus in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
This is a great 40% discount for Samsung’s best, which sports an 11-inch AMOLED screen, excellent performance, and includes a stylus that magnetically sticks to the top of the slate.
—
Simon Hill, Wired News, 12 July 2025
Set within a sturdy and rounded frame, the LCD writing tablet is electronic and exercises your child's writing and drawing skills with a stylus (goodbye, messy markers and crayons).
—Cheryl Fenton, Parents, 10 July 2025
In fact, no stylus made by any company will work with the Z Fold 7.
—PC Magazine, 10 July 2025
One unfortunate drawback of the design change is that Samsung has dropped support for the S Pen stylus from the Z Fold 7.
—ArsTechnica, 9 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for stylus
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Simon Hill, Wired News, 12 July 2025
Set within a sturdy and rounded frame, the LCD writing tablet is electronic and exercises your child's writing and drawing skills with a stylus (goodbye, messy markers and crayons).
—Cheryl Fenton, Parents, 10 July 2025
In fact, no stylus made by any company will work with the Z Fold 7.
—PC Magazine, 10 July 2025
One unfortunate drawback of the design change is that Samsung has dropped support for the S Pen stylus from the Z Fold 7.
—ArsTechnica, 9 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for stylus
Cite this Entry
“Stylus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stylus. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
stylus
noun
sty·lus
ˈstī-ləs
plural styli
ˈstī(ə)l-ˌī
also styluses
ˈstī-lə-səz
also styluses
ˈstī-lə-səz
1
: an instrument used by the ancients for writing on wax tablets
Medical Definition
stylus
noun
sty·lus
variants
also stilus
plural styli
ˈstī(ə)l-ˌī
also styluses
ˈstī-lə-səz
or stili or stiluses
also styluses
ˈstī-lə-səz
or stili or stiluses
: an instrument for writing, marking, or incising: as
a
: a hard-pointed instrument for punching the dots in writing braille with a braille slate
b
: a device that traces a recording (as of an electrocardiograph) on paper
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