What does stylus mean?
A stylus is a slender, pen-like instrument with a pointed tip, used for writing, drawing, or inscribing a surface. Its best-known modern use is as a touchscreen accessory: instead of using a finger, a person writes or draws directly on a tablet or phone. The word also has historical and technical senses. In antiquity, a stylus was used to scratch letters into wax tablets, where it served as a writing implement rather than a pen containing ink. In sound equipment, a stylus is the small needle-like component that follows the grooves of a record. The word comes from the Greek stylos, meaning “pillar” or “pointed object,” and was also used in Latin for a writing tool. Today, the term is particularly associated with precision touchscreen input, although it can refer to any fine pointed instrument used for marking or engraving a surface.
nounA slender pointed instrument used for writing, drawing, engraving, or inscribing. By extension, it can refer to a small pen-like device used to control a touchscreen or a needle-like part that records sound from a record.
- A small, pen-shaped instrument with a pointed or fine tip, used for writing or drawing on a surface.
- A pointed implement used in ancient times to inscribe letters on wax tablets or other soft surfaces.
- A device resembling a pen that is used to write or draw on a touchscreen.
- The needle-like component in a record player that traces the grooves of a record.
"She used a stylus to add fine details to the drawing."
"He wrote notes on the tablet using a stylus."
"The record player's stylus needs cleaning before the next album can be played."
The plural styli is standard, especially for the pointed instruments or touchscreen pens. Styluses is also accepted in general use.
"The museum displayed several ancient styli and a set of modern styluses."
The modern touchscreen stylus keeps alive a tradition that began with ancient scribes marking information on wax tablets.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of stylus
The word comes from Latin stylus, borrowed from Greek stylos, meaning “pillar” or “pointed object.” Latin used stylus for a pointed writing instrument used on wax tablets, and the English word later acquired the broader meaning of a fine writing or engraving tool. Its use for a touchscreen pen and a record-player needle developed from the word's longstanding association with pointed instruments that mark or trace surfaces.
Related word forms
How stylus is actually used
The word is most common for a touchscreen pen or the fine pointed instrument used in writing and drawing. In specialist contexts, it also refers to an ancient writing tool or the sound-recording needle in a turntable.