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Business English vocabulary · Deadlines and Scheduling

Pencil in

Meaning in business english, with examples

/ˌpensəl ˈɪn/phrasal verbCommon term

In business english, pencil in means: To arrange a meeting or event for a certain time, knowing that the plan may still change later.

In Turkish: şimdilik takvime yazmak, geçici olarak planlamak, ön rezervasyon yapmak

How it is used

Informal and useful when nothing is final yet: 'Let's pencil in Thursday at ten', 'I'll pencil you in for the 12th'. It comes from writing in pencil, which can be rubbed out. The time is confirmed later.

Example sentences

  1. Shall we pencil in a follow-up call for next Wednesday?

  2. I've pencilled in the workshop for 3 May, but I still need to check the room.

Common collocations

  • pencil in a meeting
  • pencil someone in
  • pencil in a date
  • pencilled in for Friday
  • calendar inviteAn electronic invitation to a meeting or call that is sent through a calendar tool and adds the event to the guests' calendars when they accept it.
  • slotA period of time in a schedule that is available for, or has been given to, a meeting, call, presentation or other activity.
  • availabilityThe times when someone is free to meet, talk or work on something.
  • rescheduleTo change the date or time of a meeting, call or event that was already planned.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Deadlines and Scheduling

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