Other forms: ballpoints
A ballpoint is a type of pen with a tiny metal ball at its very tip. When you write with a ballpoint, the ball rolls, spreading ink onto the paper.
The most common kind of writing pen is the ballpoint or ballpoint pen. When ballpoints were first developed around the turn of the 20th century, they gradually replaced fountain pens, which actually had to be dipped in ink. Not only were ballpoints easier and cleaner, they were also less expensive. The word ballpoint, also spelled ball-point, was first recorded in 1946.