Use crayon for children's or artists' coloring sticks, especially wax ones. Do not confuse it with a colored pencil, which has a wooden casing, or a marker, which uses ink.
Use crayon for children's or artists' coloring sticks, especially wax ones. Do not confuse it with a colored pencil, which has a wooden casing, or a marker, which uses ink.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| I wrote with a crayon pencil. | I wrote with a crayon. |
| The crayon has ink inside. | The crayon is made of colored wax or similar material. |
| She used three crayon. | She used three crayons. |
| A crayon is always a marker. | A crayon is different from a marker. |
The verb crayon is less common than the noun and sounds informal. In ordinary speech, draw with crayons or color with crayons is often more natural.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| He crayon the paper yesterday. | He crayoned the paper yesterday. |
| She crayon with the wall. | She crayoned on the wall. |
| They were crayon pictures. | They were crayoning pictures. |
| Crayon as a verb is always formal. | Crayon as a verb is informal and less common. |
For school and children's art supplies, crayon usually means a wax coloring stick. For a wooden colored pencil, use colored pencil.
Crayon pencil is often redundant or inaccurate. If the object is a wax coloring stick, crayon alone is usually enough.
From French crayon, originally meaning a chalk pencil, from craie, chalk. In modern English, the word most often means a colored wax drawing stick.
What is a crayon?
A crayon is a colored wax, chalk, or similar stick used for drawing or coloring.
Is a crayon the same as a colored pencil?
No. A crayon is usually waxy and not wood-cased, while a colored pencil has a colored core inside wood.
What is the plural of crayon?
The plural is crayons.
Can crayon be a verb?
Yes, informally. To crayon means to draw, color, or mark with a crayon.
What are crayons made of?
Many common crayons are made of wax mixed with colored pigment.
What is a synonym for crayon?
Possible synonyms include wax crayon, coloring stick, colored wax stick, and wax pastel.
How do you use crayon in a sentence?
For example: The child drew a sun with a yellow crayon.