pricking

Pluralprickings

1. 1
   verb

   Present participle and gerund of prick. Use it after is, was or keep, or as a noun for the action.

   She was pricking tiny holes in the paper with a pin.

   The horse's ears were pricking up at every noise in the barn.

   Note
2. 2
   nouncountable or uncountable

   Making a small hole in something with a sharp point.

   A quick pricking of the potatoes with a fork stops them from bursting in the oven.

   His arms were sore from the prickings of the blackberry thorns.

   Similarpiercing, puncture, jab

3. 3
   nounfigurativelycountable or uncountable

   A sharp feeling that hurts inside, like a small sting.

   She felt a pricking of guilt when she saw her friend's sad face.

   The pricking of her tired eyes told her it was time to stop reading.

   Similartwinge, pang, sting, stab

   Note
4. 4
   nouncountable or uncountable

   Pushing a nail into a horse's foot in a way that makes the horse lame.

   The horse limped for a week after a pricking from a shoe nail.

   The blacksmith works slowly with every nail to avoid a pricking.

5. 5
   noununcountable

   Following a hare by looking at the marks its feet leave on the ground.

   After the snow, pricking was easy because every hare left a clear trail.

   The old gamekeeper taught the boys pricking along the muddy edges of the field.

Showing meanings only. Show all 6