needle

NEE-duhl/ˈniː.dl̩/

Pluralneedles

Verbneedles, needling, needled

13 meanings of needle

Practice

1
nouncountable
A thin, pointed metal tool used for sewing, giving medicine shots, or making stitches.
Like a tiny metal spike that carries thread through cloth.
The needle slipped through the cloth easily.
She threaded a needle to fix the loose button.
Note
2
nouncountable
A thin, sharp leaf that grows on pine trees and other conifers.
Like a tiny green spike growing where other trees have flat leaves.
A pine needle stuck to my sweater after the hike.
The ground was covered with brown needles under the fir tree.
3
nouncountable
The thin pointer on a dial that shows a measurement.
Like a thin arm that swings to point at a number.
The needle on the speedometer jumped to sixty.
Watch the needle move as the pressure rises.
Similarpointer, indicator
4
verbtransitive
To annoy someone on purpose by teasing them or making fun of them.
Like poking someone again and again until they get upset.
His brothers love to needle him about his terrible singing.
She kept needling her coworker until he lost his temper.
Similartease, goad
Note
5
nouncountable
Any thin, pointed shape, such as a sharp rock, a tall stone pillar, or a crystal.
Like a giant pointed shape that looks like a sewing needle stuck in the ground.
Climbers admired the rocky needle rising from the valley floor.
The frost left tiny ice needles on the window.
Similarspire, pinnacle, spike
6
verbtransitive
To push a needle through something, such as cloth or skin.
Like pushing a pin through a piece of paper.
Therapists needle specific points to ease the pain.
The tailor needled the thick leather with effort.
Similarpierce, prick, stitch
Note
7
nouncolloquialcountable
The small pointed tip that reads the grooves on a record to make sound.
The needle skipped across the old record.
He gently lowered the needle onto the spinning disc.
Similarstylus
8
nouncolloquial
Death as a punishment, carried out by injecting deadly drugs into a prisoner.
The prisoner was sentenced to the needle for his crimes.
My uncle thinks no one should get the needle, whatever they did.
9
nouncountable
A move where you balance on both hands and one leg, then kick the other leg up into a split.
Like doing a split, but with your hands on the floor and one leg pointing straight up.
She held the needle for several seconds before lowering her leg.
Learning the needle takes a lot of balance and stretching.
10
nouncountable
In computer searches, the piece of text you are trying to find inside a larger text.
Like looking for one special word hidden in a huge book.
The program could not find the needle in the long file.
If the needle does not appear, the search returns nothing.
Note

Less common meanings

11
nouncountable
A strong beam held up by posts, used to support a building for a short time during repairs.
Workers slid a needle through the wall to hold up the upper floors.
The steel needles rested on thick wooden posts while the workers rebuilt the bottom of the wall.
12
verbtransitive or intransitive
To grow or take the shape of a long, thin needle, as some crystals do.
Ice can needle into thin spikes on a cold windshield.
The crystals needle outward as the liquid cools.
13
nouncountable
A kind of damselfly found only in Australia.
A needle darted over the creek, catching tiny insects.
The park guide pointed out a needle sitting quietly on a leaf beside the trail.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of needle apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

It comes from Old English nǣdl, going back to an ancient Indo-European root meaning "to spin or twist." It is related to German Nadel and Dutch naald.