Lexic.us

Definition of Prick

1. Verb. Make a small hole into, as with a needle or a thorn. "The nurse pricked my finger to get a small blood sample"

2. Noun. Insulting terms of address for people who are stupid or irritating or ridiculous.

3. Verb. Cause a stinging pain. "The needle pricked his skin"

4. Noun. A depression scratched or carved into a surface.

5. Verb. Raise. "The dog pricked up his ears"

6. Noun. Obscene terms for penis.

7. Verb. Stab or urge on as if with a pointed stick.

8. Noun. The act of puncturing with a small point. "He gave the balloon a small prick"

9. Verb. Cause a prickling sensation.

10. Verb. To cause a sharp emotional pain. "The thought of her unhappiness pricked his conscience"

11. Verb. Deliver a sting to. "A bee stung my arm yesterday"

Definition of Prick

1. n. That which pricks, penetrates, or punctures; a sharp and slender thing; a pointed instrument; a goad; a spur, etc.; a point; a skewer.

2. v. t. To pierce slightly with a sharp- pointed instrument or substance; to make a puncture in, or to make by puncturing; to drive a fine point into; as, to prick one with a pin, needle, etc.; to prick a card; to prick holes in paper.

3. v. i. To be punctured; to suffer or feel a sharp pain, as by puncture; as, a sore finger pricks.

Definition of Prick

1. Noun. A small hole or perforation, caused by piercing. (defdate from 10th c.) ¹

2. Noun. An indentation or small mark made with a pointed object. (defdate from 10th c.) ¹

3. Noun. (obsolete) A dot or other diacritical mark used in writing; a point. (defdate 10th-18th c.) ¹

4. Noun. (obsolete) A tiny particle; a small amount of something; a jot. (defdate 10th-18th c.) ¹

5. Noun. A small pointed object. (defdate from 10th c.) ¹

6. Noun. The experience or feeling of being pierced or punctured by a small, sharp object. (defdate from 13th c.) ¹

7. Noun. (slang vulgar) The penis. (defdate from 16th c.) ¹

8. Noun. (slang pejorative) Someone (especially a man or boy) who is unpleasant, rude or annoying. (defdate from 16th c.) ¹

9. Noun. (context: now historical) A small roll of yarn or tobacco. (defdate from 17th c.) ¹

10. Verb. (transitive) To pierce or puncture slightly. (defdate from 11th c.) ¹

11. Verb. (transitive) To incite, stimulate, goad. (defdate from 13th c.) ¹

12. Verb. (intransitive archaic) To urge one's horse on; to ride quickly. (defdate from 14th c.) ¹

13. Verb. (context: transitive chiefly nautical) To mark the surface of (something) with pricks or dots; especially, to trace a ship’s course on (a chart). (defdate from 16th c.) ¹

14. Verb. (nautical obsolete) To run a middle seam through the cloth of a sail. (The Universal Dictionary of the English Language, 1896) ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Prick

1. to puncture slightly [v -ED, -ING, -S]

Lexicographical Neighbors of Prick

pricepoint pricepoints pricer pricers prices pricetag pricetags pricey priceyness pricier

priciest pricily priciness pricing pricing system prick up prick up one's ears pricked pricker prickers

pricket pricketh prickets prickier prickiest pricking prickings prickle prickle-weed

Literary usage of Prick

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

1. A Glossary to the Works of William Shakespeare by Alexander Dyce (1902)
"119. prick, the point in the centre of the butts (see clout): Let the mark have a ... 70. prick song, " harmony written or pricked down, in opposition to ..."

2. The Babees Book: Aristotle's A B C, Urbanitatis, Stans Puer Ad Mensam, The by Frederick James Furnivall (1868)
"If the mark stand on a hill-side . . a man's eye shall think that to be straight which is crooked,' ib. р. 159, prick* being here equivalent to mark'. ..."

3. The Origin and Influence of the Thoroughbred Horse by William Ridgeway (1905)
"They are all prick-spurs, a form which continued in use everywhere in Europe ... I here figure various forms of the prick-spur, three of which are from the ..."

4. A Complete Collection of State Trials and Proceedings for High Treason and ...by Thomas Bayly Howell, William Cobbett, David Jardine by Thomas Bayly Howell, William Cobbett, David Jardine (1816)
"And further saith, That she did hear the said Susanna to sav and further confess, that she did prick and torment one Dorcas Coleman the wile of John Coleman ..."

5. A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language by Walter William Skeat (1901)
"See Fendant. point. (F.—L.) MEpoint.-OK point, poinct, a point, prick. — L*. punctum ; orig. neut. of punctus, pp. of pungere, to prick. ..."

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