'Needle' definitions:

Definition of 'needle'

(from WordNet)
noun
The leaf of a conifer [syn: acerate leaf, needle]
noun
A slender pointer for indicating the reading on the scale of a measuring instrument
noun
A sharp pointed implement (usually steel)
noun
A stylus that formerly made sound by following a groove in a phonograph record [syn: phonograph needle, needle]
verb
Goad or provoke,as by constant criticism; "He needled her with his sarcastic remarks" [syn: needle, goad]
verb
Prick with a needle

Definition of 'Needle'

From: GCIDE
  • Needle \Nee"dle\ (n[=e]"d'l), n. [OE. nedle, AS. n[=ae]dl; akin to D. neald, OS. n[=a]dla, G. nadel, OHG. n[=a]dal, n[=a]dala, Icel. n[=a]l, Sw. n[*a]l, Dan. naal, and also to G. n[aum]hen to sew, OHG. n[=a]jan, L. nere to spin, Gr. ne`ein, and perh. to E. snare: cf. Gael. & Ir. snathad needle, Gael. snath thread, G. schnur string, cord.]
  • 1. A small instrument of steel, sharply pointed at one end, with an eye to receive a thread, -- used in sewing. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]
  • Note: In some needles (as for sewing machines) the eye is at the pointed end, but in ordinary needles it is at the blunt end. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. See Magnetic needle, under Magnetic. [1913 Webster]
  • 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. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. (Bot.) One of the needle-shaped secondary leaves of pine trees. See Pinus. [1913 Webster]
  • 5. Any slender, pointed object, like a needle, as a pointed crystal, a sharp pinnacle of rock, an obelisk, etc. [1913 Webster]
  • 6. A hypodermic needle; a syringe fitted with a hypodermic needle, used for injecting fluids into the body. [Informal] [PJC]
  • 7. An injection of medicine from a hypodermic needle; a shot. [PJC]
  • Dipping needle. See under Dipping.
  • Needle bar, the reciprocating bar to which the needle of a sewing machine is attached.
  • Needle beam (Arch.), in 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 (Bot.), a prickly leguminous plant of Western Europe; the petty whin (Genista Anglica).
  • Needle gun, a firearm loaded at the breech with a cartridge carrying its own fulminate, which is exploded by driving a slender needle, or pin, into it. [archaic]
  • Needle loom (Weaving), a loom in which the weft thread is carried through the shed by a long eye-pointed needle instead of by a shuttle.
  • Needle ore (Min.), acicular bismuth; a sulphide of bismuth, lead, and copper occuring in acicular crystals; -- called also aikinite.
  • Needle shell (Zool.), a sea urchin.
  • Needle spar (Min.), aragonite.
  • Needle telegraph, a telegraph in which the signals are given by the deflections of a magnetic needle to the right or to the left of a certain position.
  • Sea needle (Zool.), the garfish. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Needle'

From: GCIDE
  • Needle \Nee"dle\, v. t.
  • 1. To form in the shape of a needle; as, to needle crystals. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. To tease (a person), especially repeatedly. [PJC]
  • 3. To prod or goad (someone) into action by teasing or daring. [PJC]

Definition of 'Needle'

From: GCIDE
  • Needle \Nee"dle\, v. i. To form needles; to crystallize in the form of needles. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'needle'

From: GCIDE
  • Stylus \Sty"lus\, n. [L. stylus, or better stilus.]
  • 1. An instrument for writing. See Style, n., 1. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. That needle-shaped part at the tip of the playing arm of phonograph which sits in the groove of a phonograph record while it is turning, to detect the undulations in the phonograph groove and convert them into vibrations which are transmitted to a system (since 1920 electronic) which converts the signal into sound; also called needle. The stylus is frequently composed of a hard metal or of diamond. [PJC]
  • 3. The needle-like device used to cut the grooves which record the sound on the original disc during recording of a phonograph record; it is moved by the vibrations given to the diaphragm by a sound, and produces the indented record. [PJC]
  • 4. (Computers) A pen-shaped pointing device used to specify the cursor position on a graphics tablet. [PJC] Stymie

Definition of 'needle'

From: Easton
  • Needle used only in the proverb, "to pass through a needle's eye" (Matt. 19:24; Mark 10:25; Luke 18:25). Some interpret the expression as referring to the side gate, close to the principal gate, usually called the "eye of a needle" in the East; but it is rather to be taken literally. The Hebrew females were skilled in the use of the needle (Ex. 28:39; 26:36; Judg. 5:30).

Synonyms of 'needle'

From: Moby Thesaurus

Words containing 'Needle'