needle

Meaning

Noun

1. 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.
2. Any slender, pointed object resembling a needle, such as a pointed crystal, a sharp pinnacle of rock, an obelisk, etc.
3. A fine measurement indicator on a dial or graph.
4. (informal) A sensor for playing phonograph records, a phonograph stylus.
5. A needle-like leaf found on some conifers.
6. A strong beam resting on props, used as a temporary support during building repairs.
7. (informal) The death penalty carried out by lethal injection.
8. A text string that is searched for within another string. (see: needle in a haystack)
9. Any of various species of damselfly of the genus Synlestes, endemic to Australia.

Verb

1. To pierce with a needle, especially for sewing or acupuncture.
2. To tease in order to provoke; to poke fun at.
3. To form, or be formed, in the shape of a needle.

Synonyms

pin

hand

✋

thorn

indicator

pointer

injection

awl

nail

stylus

sew

sewing needle

🪡

phonograph needle

syringe

💉

prickle

spine

stitch

bug

🐛

thread

🧵

pierce

goad

bother

acerate leaf

nag

hypodermic needle

annoy

obelisk

spike

spur

needles

needlewoman

peak

peg

penetrate

pivot

probe

quill

ridge

sewing

sewing machine

shot

snipe

spicule

summit

tack

tease

tiptop

top

🔝

vertex

vex

wire

worm

🪱

needle file

sewing pin

acicula

needle roller

broach file

reproducing stylus

needle point file

keen point

needle leaf

reproducing needle

pick-up needle

acknowledger

smooth sewing needle

anger

💢

apex

arrow

auger

barb

beam

brambles

bullet

chain

climax

crest

cross bar

crown

👑

file

fishhook

fork

gage

gauge

gibe

gimlet

hard metal

index

irritate

kid

🧒

knitting-needle

leather

metal

🤘

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈniː.dəl/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: nedle

Inherited from Old English: nǣdl

Cognate with Dutch: naald

Cognate with German: Nadel

Cognate with German: nähen

Cognate with Danish: nål

Cognate with Norwegian: nål

Cognate with Finnish: neula

In summary

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.