Needle (noun) Definition, Meaning & Examples

noun
  1. a small, slender, rodlike instrument, usually of polished steel, with a sharp point at one end and an eye or hole for thread at the other, for passing thread through cloth to make stitches in sewing.
  2. any of various similar, usually considerably larger, implements for making stitches, as one for use in knitting or one hooked at the end for use in crocheting.
  3. Medicine/Medical.
    • a slender, pointed, steel instrument used in sewing or piercing tissues, as in suturing.
    • hypodermic needle.
  4. an injection of a drug or medicine; shot.
  5. any of various objects resembling or suggesting a needle.
  6. the tapered stylus at the end of a phonographic tonearm, used to transmit vibrations from a record groove to a transducer for conversion to audible signals.
  7. magnetic needle.
  8. a pointed instrument, or stylus, used in engraving, etching, or the like.
  9. a needle-shaped leaf, as of a conifer: a pine needle.
  10. a slender sharp spicule.
  11. a needlelike crystal.
  12. a sharp-pointed mass or pinnacle of rock.
  13. an obelisk or a tapering, four-sided shaft of stone: Cleopatra's Needle.
  14. a short beam passed through a wall as a temporary support.
verb (used with object), nee·dled, nee·dling.
  1. to sew or pierce with or as if with a needle: to needle a patch on a sleeve.
  2. Informal.
    • to prod or goad (someone) to a specified action: We needled her into going with us.
    • to tease: We needled him about his big ears.
  3. to add alcohol or ether to (a beverage): to needle beer.
verb (used without object), nee·dled, nee·dling.
  1. to form needles in crystallization.
  2. to work with a needle.
Idioms
  1. taking drugs by injection, especially habitually.
  2. irritating abuse; teasing; heckling (used especially in the phrases give someone the needle and get the needle).
noun
  1. a pointed slender piece of metal, usually steel, with a hole or eye in it through which thread is passed for sewing
  2. a somewhat larger rod with a point at one or each end, used in knitting
  3. a similar instrument with a hook at one end for crocheting
    • another name for stylus (def. 3)
    • a small thin pointed device, esp one made of stainless steel, used to transmit the vibrations from a gramophone record to the pick-up
  4. med
    • the long hollow pointed part of a hypodermic syringe, which is inserted into the body
    • an informal name for hypodermic syringe
  5. a pointed steel instrument, often curved, for suturing, puncturing, or ligating
  6. a long narrow stiff leaf, esp of a conifer, in which water loss is greatly reduced
  7. any slender sharp spine, such as the spine of a sea urchin
  8. any slender pointer for indicating the reading on the scale of a measuring instrument
  9. short for magnetic needle
  10. a crystal resembling a needle in shape
  11. a sharp pointed metal instrument used in engraving and etching
  12. anything long and pointed, such as an obelisk
  13. a short horizontal beam passed through a wall and supported on vertical posts to take the load of the upper part of the wall
  14. informal
    • anger or intense rivalry, esp in a sporting encounter
    • (as modifier)
  15. to feel dislike, distaste, nervousness, or annoyance (for)
verb
  1. to goad or provoke, as by constant criticism
  2. to sew, embroider, or prick (fabric) with a needle
  3. to increase the alcoholic strength of (beer or other beverages)
  4. (of a substance) to form needle-shaped crystals
    Needle (noun) Definition, Meaning & Examples

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