Biro
name, noun ·2 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A Biro brand ballpoint pen. countable, uncountable
"Biro MARKS A TURNING POINT IN THE HISTORY OF Writing "BIRO" is unique: it writes with a ballpoint — a point that never goes wrong, never floods, bends or splutters — a point that rolls your writing on to the paper with effortless ease. "BIRO" ink dries as you write; you cannot smudge it; you need no blotter. […] Retail price 55/- including purchase tax"
- 2 a pen that has a small metal ball as the point of transfer of ink to paper wordnet
- 3 Any ballpoint pen. Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, broadly, countable, uncountable
"Massimo's finger was poised above red on his multi-coloured biro like a kangaroo frozen in headlights."
- 4 Ink from a ballpoint pen. broadly, uncountable
"‘My very creative 2-year-old son used my good friend′s white polyester Roman blinds as a canvas,’ says Jacqui. They′re now covered in blue biro. And although my friend isn′t too bothered by the biro, I am! Can you help?′"
- 1 A surname from the Slavic languages.
- 2 A brand of ballpoint pen: see biro.
Example
More examples"I bought this biro for 2 dollars."
Etymology
Genericized trademark of BIRO, named after László Bíró, the inventor of the first commercially succesful ballpoint pen.
Related phrases
More for "biro"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.