pin, PIN: simple meaning in easy English

noun · PIN noun · verb

PIN/pɪn/

Pluralpins, PINs

Verbpins, pinning, pinned

34 meanings of pin

Practice

1
needle-like fastenernouncountable
A short, thin piece of metal with a sharp point and a small head, used to hold things together.
She held the two pieces of cloth together with a pin.
He took the pins out of the new shirt before he put it on.
Note
2
secret numbernoun · PINacronym
Short for personal identification number: a secret number you type to use a bank card or phone.
Enter your PIN, then press the green button.
Never tell anyone your PIN, not even your friends.
UsageYou enter your PIN at an ATM.
Note
3
fasten onverbtransitive
To use a pin to attach one thing to another.
Can you pin this note to the board for me?
She pinned a flower on her jacket.
UsagePin it to the board or on your shirt.
Similarattach, fasten, tack, fix
Oppositeunpin, unfasten, detach
4
verbtransitive
To hold someone down or against something so they cannot move, for example in wrestling.
My little brother always tries to pin me when we wrestle.
She pinned her opponent in less than a minute.
UsageOften pin someone to the mat.
5
nounUScountable
A small badge or piece of jewelry you fasten to your clothes.
He wore a pin with his favorite team's logo on his jacket.
Her jean jacket is covered in pins from places she has visited.
Similarbadge, button, brooch
6
keep visible (online)verbtransitive
To make an app, icon or message stay in one place on a screen.
You can pin your favorite apps to the bottom of the screen.
She pinned the class schedule at the top of the group chat.
UsagePin an app to your screen. The opposite is unpin.
Oppositeunpin
7
nouncountable
A short rod used inside a device or lock to hold parts together or control how they move.
The door came off because the pin in the hinge fell out.
The trailer is held to the car by a strong metal pin.
Similarpeg, dowel
8
plug contactnouncountable
One of the separate parts of a plug or connector that make an electrical connection.
One pin on the cable was bent, so it would not plug in.
This old printer cable has twenty-five pins.
Similarcontact, prong
Note
9
bowlingnouncountable
A thin object made for some games and sports, such as bowling.
Her first ball knocked down every pin.
We set up the pins again for the next player.
Similarskittle
10
shoulders on matnouncountable
In wrestling, a win that comes from holding the other person's shoulders on the mat for a set time.
She won the match with a pin in the first minute.
He has five pins this season and no losses.
UsageYou win by a pin.
Similarfall
Note
11
golf flagnouncountable
In golf, the stick with a flag that shows where the hole is.
Her ball stopped just a few feet from the pin.
He hit the ball high and right at the pin.
Similarflag, flagstick
Note
12
nouncountable
A small mark on a map on a phone or computer that shows where a place is.
Send me a pin so I can find your new apartment.
The map on my phone shows a red pin where the hotel is.
Similarmarker
Note

Less common meanings

13
small nailnouncountable
A small nail with a sharp end and a head at the top.
Dad hammered a pin into the wall to hang the little picture.
He used a small hammer to tap the pins into the frame.
Similarnail, tack, brad
14
verbtransitive
To keep someone or something shut in a small space so they can't get out.
Cars parked on both sides pin me in every morning.
The heavy snow pinned us in the cabin for three days.
UsageSay pinned in: snow pinned us in.
Similartrap, confine
Oppositefree, release
Note
15
legnouncolloquialcountableplural
Legs. You use it in the plural, pins, to talk about someone's legs.
After the long walk, Grandpa said his pins were tired.
She was still a bit shaky on her pins after being sick.
UsageYou can say steady on your pins or shaky on your pins when talking about standing or walking.
Similarleg
16
chess tacticnouncountable
In chess, when a piece can't move safely because the king or a stronger piece is behind it.
I broke the pin by moving my queen out of the way.
Good chess players look for pins in every game.
Note
17
trap a piece (chess)verbtransitive
In chess, to trap a piece so it can't move without putting a more important piece or the king in danger.
My knight was pinned, so I couldn't use it to stop the attack.
Use your bishop to pin her knight to her king.
UsageSay a piece is pinned to the king.
Note
18
arcade gamenouncolloquialcountable
A pinball machine, the kind of game you play in an arcade.
This pin has bright lights and loud bells.
My brother plays pins at the arcade for hours, trying to keep the silver ball in the game.
19
dial to topverbtransitive
To make the needle on a dial go all the way to the top and stop.
The storm winds pinned the needle on our old wind gauge.
Don't pin the speedometer in this old car.
UsageYou pin the needle.
Similarpeg
Note
20
small valuenouncountable
Something that is worth very little.
He doesn't care a pin for anyone's opinion.
Their promises aren't worth a pin.
UsageSay not worth a pin: worth nothing.
Similarfig, jot, straw, hoot
Note
21
verb
In programming, to keep data in one place in memory, or to make an app trust only one certain security certificate.
22
noun
A small peg on an instrument that you turn to make a string tighter or looser.
23
noun
In a woodworking joint called a dovetail, the part that sticks out and fits into the other piece.
24
verbslang
To inject a drug to make the body stronger or perform better.
25
nounslang
A shot of a drug that helps someone get stronger or perform better.
26
verb
In backgammon, to land on another player's lone piece so that it can't move anymore.
27
noun
In curling or archery, the very center of the target.
28
nounobsolete
How someone feels at a certain time.
he had made the sign of the Cross on his head; for he was then on a merry pin and full of jearing
1653, Henry More, An Antidote against Atheisme
29
noun
A peg in an old cup that showed each person's share.
30
nounobsolete
Poor sight caused by a small cloudy spot on the front of the eye.
Blind with the pin and web
c. 1610, William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”
31
nounUK
A small beer barrel, an eighth of the usual barrel size.
32
verb
To shape metal by hitting it, often with the rounded or thin end of a hammer.
33
noun
Clouding of the lens of the eye, which makes it hard to see.
34
noun
Short for preferred IUPAC name, the chosen official name of a chemical.

Practice

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Origin

It comes from Old English pinn, meaning a pin or peg.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

Pin comes from Old English pinn. en.wiktionary.org
Old English pinn meant a pin or peg. en.wiktionary.org