Stationery and Office Supplies: English Vocabulary List

writing materials such as paper, pencils, notebooks, etc.

"The stationery is new."

"The office supply store sells stationery including paper envelopes pens and notebooks for businesses."

a cover with metal rings inside that pass through the holes of the documents within to hold them together

"Use ring binder."

"She organized her recipes in a ring binder with plastic sleeves to protect the pages."

a small, thin piece of bent wire or plastic used for holding together sheets of paper

"Use a paper clip."

"She couldn't find a stapler, so she used a paper clip to hold the important documents together."

a metal object with two toothed jaws and a spring, used for holding things in place

"Use alligator clip."

"The electrician used an alligator clip to create a temporary connection between two wires safely."

a small piece of colored paper that is sticky on one side and can be easily removed, used for leaving notes

"I wrote it on a post-it."

"She left a bright yellow post-it on my desk with a reminder about the meeting scheduled for tomorrow morning."

a pen that can be refilled with ink

"Elegant fountain pen."

"Writing with a fountain pen requires a steady hand because the ink flows continuously without pressure."

the tip of a pen that puts the ink on paper

"Pen nib is fine."

"The fountain pen nib was bent after he dropped it on the hard floor."

a pen with a small metal ball at its tip that puts the ink on paper when it rolls

"Blue ballpoint pen."

"The ballpoint pen writes smoothly because a small ball transfers ink from the cartridge to paper."

a pen with a metal ball at the tip that when rolls puts the ink on paper

"Use biro pen."

"The biro ran out of ink during the exam causing her to panic for a moment."

plastic tape that is transparent and sticky on one side, used for sticking things together, such as paper

"Scotch tape fixes."

"He used Scotch tape to wrap the gift because he could not find any ribbon."

a pen with a tip that is made of a fiber called felt

"Felt tip draws."

"The artist used a black felt tip pen to draw bold outlines before coloring the picture."

a tool used for fastening sheets of paper together by putting staples into them

"Heavy stapler used."

"The stapler jammed after trying to staple too many pages together at once."

a handheld tool with a small blade inside, used for sharpening pencils

"Electric pencil sharpener."

"The electric pencil sharpener quickly made a perfect point on every dull pencil."

a white liquid for covering mistakes made while writing

"She used Witeout to correct the typing mistake."

"She applied Witeout carefully over the typing error before typing the correct letter over it."

a type of thumbtack with a colored piece of plastic on one end

"Pushpin holds paper."

"He used a pushpin to hang the poster on the corkboard without damaging the wall."

a short pin with a flat round head that is used to fasten paper to a wall or board

"Pin it with thumbtack."

"He used a thumbtack to secure the colorful poster to the bulletin board for everyone to see."

a set of sheets of paper held together on which one can write notes

"Small notepad useful."

"He kept a small notepad in his pocket to jot down ideas throughout the day."

a pencil with a button on top that can be pushed or turned to get more lead out

"Mechanical pencil is convenient."

"The mechanical pencil never needs sharpening because its lead advances automatically with a click."

thin paper with one side coated with a dark substance, put between two sheets of paper to copy everything that is being written or typed on it onto the sheet underneath

"Old carbon paper."

"Before photocopiers secretaries used carbon paper to create duplicate copies of typed documents."

an alphabetically-arranged set of cards with information on them, found especially in libraries

"Library card catalog."

"The old library still has a card catalog but everyone uses the computer now."

a tray-like object on an office desk, where incoming tasks or documents are placed for one to deal with

"In-basket is full."

"The secretary placed all incoming mail in the manager's in basket for review later."

a tray-like object on an office desk, where completed tasks, documents, etc. are placed before filing or further processing

"Out-basket for finished."

"Once he signed the letters he put them in the out basket for mailing."

a piece of office furniture with drawers in which documents can be stored

"The important documents are in the file cabinet."

"The file cabinet drawer was so full that she could barely pull it open."

an object with an open top that is used for holding trash, particularly waste paper

"Empty wastebasket daily."

"He crumpled the failed drawing and threw it into the wastebasket in frustration."

functional and easy to use

"This tool is handy."

"This handy little tool can open bottles cut boxes and tighten screws so it is useful to keep in the kitchen drawer."

made for practical use, not for looks

"The design is functional."

"The furniture is simple and functional with no unnecessary decorations but it serves its purpose well and is very comfortable."

a cover made of plastic or folded card in which documents or pieces of paper can be kept

"Put it in the folder."

"Please place all the important documents inside this manila folder."

a small board that has a clip on top for holding sheets of paper

"Use the clipboard."

"The nurse used a clipboard to record the patient's vital signs."

the object inside a pencil that makes a mark when moved on paper

"The pencil lead broke."

"The artist carefully sharpened the pencil, ensuring the lead was perfectly pointed."

a type of pen with a colored tip, used for marking words in a piece of writing, book, magazine, etc.

"Yellow highlighter marks."

"She marked important dates on the calendar with a yellow highlighter to remember them easily."

a machine or tool used for making holes in paper or other material

"Use the hole punch."

"The heavy-duty punch can easily create clean openings in thick cardstock."

a handheld tool that is used for imprinting a name, date, etc. onto a piece of paper

"Official rubber stamp."

"The rubber stamp imprinted the word approved in red ink on every document."