crayon

[krey-on, -uhn]

noun

1. a pointed stick or pencil of colored clay, chalk, wax, etc., used for drawing or coloring.

2. a drawing in crayons.

verb (used with object)

1. to draw or color with a crayon or crayons.

verb (used without object)

1. to make a drawing with crayons.

crayon

/ ˈkreɪən, -ɒn /

noun

1. a small stick or pencil of charcoal, wax, clay, or chalk mixed with coloured pigment

2. a drawing made with crayons

verb

1. to draw or colour with crayons

Other Word Forms

• crayonist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of crayon¹

1635–45; < French, equivalent to craie chalk (< Latin crēta clay, chalk) + -on noun suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of crayon¹

C17: from French, from craie, from Latin crēta chalk

Example Sentences

She loves to draw, and we have a nice art section in the house featuring everything from crayons to markers, scratch-off art, watercolors and rainbow paints.

From Los Angeles Times

When one of her enslaved piglets colors a picture with crayons, she turns him into a pork chop.

From Los Angeles Times

It’s so obvious, it’s practically unconscious — like being told to crayon a great painting and selecting the “Mona Lisa.”

From Los Angeles Times

The future Queen Elizabeth I was 12 years old at the time — long past the age in which a ghastly crayon drawing of dad would suffice.

From Salon

No one had yet gotten to a second-floor classroom that was in disarray, with crayons, books and papers dumped on the floor and chairs overturned.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• pastel