needle

Meanings

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

• 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.

Synonyms

acerate leaf, goad, neele, phonograph needle, tease

Related Words

acerate, acicular, eye, pin