needle

/'ni:dl/

Thân thiện

A nurse uses a needle to give a patient a vaccination.

Definition

1. Noun:

   • A thin, pointed piece of metal with a hole (eye) for thread: A small, slender tool used for sewing or medical injections.
   • A thin, pointed piece on a measuring instrument: A slender pointer that indicates a measurement on a dial or scale, such as on a compass, gauge, or meter.
   • A stylus for a phonograph: A pointed component that follows the grooves in a vinyl record to produce sound.
   • A leaf of a conifer tree: The slender, sharp leaf of trees like pines and firs.
   • A sharp, pointed crystal: A crystal formation that is long, thin, and pointed.

2. Verb:

   • To sew, pierce, or inject with a needle: To use a needle for a practical purpose like stitching or administering medicine.
   • To provoke or annoy persistently: To criticize or tease someone repeatedly in order to irritate or goad them into action.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • She threaded the needle to sew the button.
  • The needle of the compass always points north.
  • The pine tree's needles covered the forest floor.
• Verb:
  • The nurse will needle your arm for the vaccine.
  • He liked to needle his brother about his messy room.

Advanced Usage

• To give someone the needle: (Slang) To provoke or irritate someone.
  • His constant teasing really gave her the needle.
• To needle one's way: To move carefully through a tight space.
  • She needled her way through the dense crowd.

Variants and Related Words

• Needlework (n): The art or process of working with a needle, such as sewing or embroidery.
• Needlepoint (n): A type of embroidery done on canvas.
• Needle-sharp (adj): Extremely sharp or perceptive.
• Needler (n): A person who needles or provokes others.

Synonyms

• Noun: Pin, stylus, pointer, lancet, spine (for conifer leaf).
• Verb: Goad, provoke, taunt, tease, nag, prick, stitch.

Related Phrasal Verbs

(The word "needle" is not commonly used in phrasal verb constructions. Its verbal meanings are typically used transitively.)

Related Idioms

• Like looking for a needle in a haystack: Describing a search for something that is nearly impossible to find.
  • Finding my lost earring in this field is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
• To thread the needle: To successfully navigate a very narrow space or a difficult situation requiring precision.
  • The pilot had to thread the needle between the two mountains.
• As sharp as a needle: Very intelligent or perceptive.
  • The young detective is as sharp as a needle.

Học thuật

Noun

1. a stylus that formerly made sound by following a groove in a phonograph record
2. a sharp pointed implement (usually steel)
3. a slender pointer for indicating the reading on the scale of a measuring instrument
4. the leaf of a conifer

Verb

1. prick with a needle
2. goad or provoke,as by constant criticism
   • He needled her with his sarcastic remarks

Từ đồng nghĩa

• phonograph needle
• acerate leaf
• goad