pinprick

American

[pin-prik] / ˈpɪnˌprɪk /

noun

any minute puncture made by a pin or the like.
a negligible irritation or annoyance.

pinprick British

/ ˈpɪnˌprɪk /

noun

a slight puncture made by or as if by a pin
a small irritation

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

(tr) to puncture with or as if with a pin

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of pinprick

First recorded in 1745–55; pin + prick

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“What happened to your hands?” she asked, tapping the pinpricks.

From Literature

Tiny holes—barely noticeable pinpricks—have been poked in or above certain letters, allowing the light to shine through.

From Literature

The same thick darkness of the door swallowed her for a moment before pinpricks of light like stars appeared, as if she were adrift in space.

From Literature

The domed blue ceiling is mottled with pinpricks of shining light, like stars emerging in the darkness.

From Los Angeles Times

He tailors his training to meet a targeted exertional threshold and monitors his lactate levels with pinprick blood tests.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023