Definition of Needle

1. Noun. The leaf of a conifer.

Exact synonyms: Acerate Leaf
Generic synonyms: Simple Leaf

2. Verb. Goad or provoke,as by constant criticism. "He needled her with his sarcastic remarks"
Exact synonyms: Goad
Generic synonyms: Beset, Chevvy, Chevy, Chivvy, Chivy, Harass, Harry, Hassle, Molest, Plague, Provoke
Derivative terms: Goad, Goading

3. Noun. A slender pointer for indicating the reading on the scale of a measuring instrument.
Generic synonyms: Pointer

4. Verb. Prick with a needle.
Category relationships: Sewing, Stitchery
Generic synonyms: Prick, Prickle

5. Noun. A sharp pointed implement (usually steel).

6. Noun. A stylus that formerly made sound by following a groove in a phonograph record.
Exact synonyms: Phonograph Needle
Generic synonyms: Stylus

Definition of Needle

1. n. A small instrument of steel, sharply pointed at one end, with an eye to receive a thread, -- used in sewing.

2. v. t. To form in the shape of a needle; as, to needle crystals.

3. v. i. To form needles; to crystallize in the form of needles.

Definition of Needle

1. Noun. A long, thin, sharp implement usually for piercing such as sewing, or knitting, acupuncture, tattooing, body piercing, medical injections etc. ¹

2. Noun. A long, thin device for indicating measurements on a dial or graph, e.g. a ''compass needle''. ¹

3. Noun. A sensor for playing phonograph records, a phonograph stylus. ¹

4. Noun. A long, pointed leaf found on some conifers. ¹

5. Noun. (informal usually preceded by (term the)) The death penalty carried out by lethal injection. ¹

6. Verb. To pierce with a needle, especially for sewing or acupuncture. ¹

7. Verb. (transitive) To tease in order to provoke; to poke fun at. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Needle

1. to sew with a slender, pointed instrument [v -DLED, -DLING, -DLES]

Medical Definition of Needle

1. 1. A small instrument of steel, sharply pointed at one end, with an eye to receive a thread, used in sewing. In some needles(as for sewing machines) the eye is at the pointed end, but in ordinary needles it is at the blunt end. 2. See Magnetic needle, under Magnetic. 3. A slender rod or wire used in knitting; a knitting needle; also, a hooked instrument which carries the thread or twine, and by means of which knots or loops are formed in the process of netting, knitting, or crocheting. 4. One of the needle-shaped secondary leaves of pine trees. See Pinus. 5. Any slender, pointed object, like a needle, as a pointed crystal, a sharp pinnacle of rock, an obelisk, etc. Dipping needle. See Dipping. Needle bar, the reciprocating bar to which the needle of a sewing machine is attached. Needle beam, to shoring, the horizontal cross timber which goes through the wall or a pier, and upon which the weight of the wall rests, when a building is shored up to allow of alterations in the lower part. Needle furze, the garfish. Origin: OE. Nedle, AS. Ndl; akin to D. Neald, OS. Nadla, G. Nadel, OHG. Nadal, nadala, Icel. Nal, Sw. Nal, Dan. Naal, and also to G. Nahen to sew, OHG. Najan, L. Nere to spin, Gr, and perh. To E. Snare: cf. Gael. & Ir. Snathad needle, Gael. Snath thread, G. Schnur string, cord. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Needle

needfire
needfires
needful
needfull
needfully
needfulness
needfulnesses
needfuls
needier
neediest
needihood
needily
neediness
needinesses
needing
needle (current term)
needle-bush
needle-clawed bushbabies
needle-clawed bushbaby
needle-exchange programs
needle-holder
needle-in-a-haystack
needle-shaped
needle-sharp
needle-wood
needle bath
needle bearing
needle biopsy
needle blight
needle bush

Literary usage of Needle

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Proceedings by Philadelphia County Medical Society (1896)
"JOHN B. HUBERTS, MD [Read October 28,1896.1 Little attention has been given to the proper construction of the surgical needle, though it is an instrument of ..."

2. The Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the by Edward Aloysius Pace, Charles George Herbermann (1922)
"In the Archdiocese of Utrecht works recently undertaken are: elementary schools, housekeeping school, needle-work school, boarding house for ladies, ..."

3. United States Supreme Court Reports by Lawyers Co-operative Publishing Company, United States Supreme Court (1888)
"The passage of the needle through the eye, after it has passed through the ... When the eye-pointed needle retracts and forms a loop above the eye of the ..."

4. Surgery, Gynecology & Obstetrics by The American College of Surgeons, Franklin H. Martin Memorial Foundation (1921)
"The remainder of the needle is fashioned so as to prevent this grasp from ... The drawings show this in detail: The split, x, in the end of the needle is at ..."

5. The Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature and (1910)
"The needle in its normal position is symmetrically placed with regard to the ... If the two quadrants are at different potentials, the needle moves from one ..."

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