needle
Plural: needles
Noun
- the leaf of a conifer
- a slender pointer for indicating the reading on the scale of a measuring instrument
- a sharp pointed implement (usually steel)
- a stylus that formerly made sound by following a groove in a phonograph record
- A long, thin, sharp implement usually for piercing as in sewing, embroidery, acupuncture, tattooing, body piercing, medical injections, sutures, etc; or a blunt but otherwise similar implement used for forming loops or knots in crafts such as darning, knitting, tatting, etc.
- Any slender, pointed object resembling a needle, such as a pointed crystal, a sharp pinnacle of rock, an obelisk, etc.
- A fine measurement indicator on a dial or graph.
- A sensor for playing phonograph records, a phonograph stylus.
- A needle-like leaf found on some conifers.
- A strong beam resting on props, used as a temporary support during building repairs.
- The death penalty carried out by lethal injection.
- A text string that is searched for within another string. (see: needle in a haystack)
- Any of various species of damselfly of the genus Synlestes, endemic to Australia.
- A move in which the performer begins with two hands and one leg on the floor, then kicks the other leg into a full split.
Verb
Verb Forms: needled, needling, needles
- To provoke or annoy; to sew with a needle.
- goad or provoke,as by constant criticism
- "He needled her with his sarcastic remarks"
- prick with a needle
- To pierce with a needle, especially for sewing or acupuncture.
- To tease in order to provoke; to poke fun at.
- To form, or be formed, in the shape of a needle.
Examples
- a compass needle
- Billy needled his sister incessantly about her pimples.
- His opponent loved to needle him with sarcastic comments about his low score.
- reusable needles
- single-use needles
- The needle on the fuel gauge pointed to empty.
- The seamstress threaded the needle to sew on a button.
- to needle crystals
- Ziggy bought some diamond needles for his hi-fi phonograph.
Origin / Etymology
From Middle English nedle, from Old English nǣdl, from Proto-West Germanic *nāþlu, from Proto-Germanic *nēþlō, from pre-Germanic *neh₁-tleh₂, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)neh₁- (“to spin, twist”).
Cognates
Cognate with Dutch naald (“needle”), German Nadel (“needle, pin, crochet hook”), German nähen (“sew”), Danish nål (“needle”), Norwegian nål (“needle”), Finnish neula (“needle”). Further related with Welsh nyddu, Latin nēre, Sanskrit स्नायति (snāyati, “wraps up, winds”). Related to snood.
Scrabble Score: 7
needle: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordneedle: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
needle: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary