Definition of PINION

pinion

Plural: pinions

Noun

  • a gear with a small number of teeth designed to mesh with a larger wheel or rack
  • any of the larger wing or tail feathers of a bird
  • wing of a bird
  • A wing.
  • The joint of a bird's wing farthest from the body.
  • Any of the outermost primary feathers on a bird's wing.
  • A moth of the genus Lithophane.
  • The smallest gear in a gear train.

Verb

Verb Forms: pinioned, pinioning, pinions

  • To restrain by binding the wings or arms; to shackle.
  • bind the arms of
  • cut the wings off (of birds)
  • To cut off the pinion of a bird’s wing, or otherwise disable or bind its wings, in order to prevent it from flying.
  • To bind the arms of someone, so as to deprive him of their use; to disable by so binding.
  • To restrain; to limit.

Examples

  • He tried to PINION his opponent’s potential plays, but a vowel dump thwarted him.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English pynyon, from Old French pignon, from Latin penna (“feather”).

Synonyms

flight feather, pennon, quill, quill feather, shackle

Scrabble Score: 8

pinion: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
pinion: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
pinion: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 11

pinion: valid Words With Friends Word