pin

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Definitions (107)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (31)

  1. noun A short, straight, stiff piece of wire with a blunt head and a sharp point, used especially for fastening.
  2. noun Something, such as a safety pin, that resembles such a piece of wire in shape or use.
  3. noun A whit; a jot: didn't care a pin about the matter.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (57)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (4)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (15)

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Examples (50)

  • When the pin is the correct diameter, put a sharply beveled point on it. —  15_ImprovisedWeapons
  • The pin was a steel needle about eight inches long, and the head, the part that made the tie-pin ornament, formed a handle He made a pass at one of Doc's eyes. —  126 - The Mental Monster
  • If a pin is at the shear line it will not bind, and no marking will occur. —  Impressioning Manual for Amateur Locksmiths
  • The useful marks you get are not really depressions in the surface of the blank (except maybe when a pin is almost at the shear line - if you start seeing deep gouges, the lock is probably about to open). —  Impressioning Manual for Amateur Locksmiths
  • "It really does help you in terms of where you're at, planning your shots, knowing whether the pin is at the back or the front, knowing where the traps are located … how far distances are so you make sure you can claim your shots properly," said Dan Pennacchia of Pictometry. —  13WHAM: Top Stories
 

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This word has been looked up 154 times.

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Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

bolt ·  screw ·  button ·  rod ·  wire ·  lever ·  assembly ·  lock ·  plate ·  ring ·  cylinder ·  switch

Used in the same contextWord Family

pin:   pins ·  pinning ·  pinned

Etymologies (5)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English, from Old English pinn, perhaps from Latin pinna, feather; see pet- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (4)

  1. from Middle English pinne, pynne, a pin, peg, bolt, bar, peak, from Anglo-Saxon pinn, a pin or peg (occurs once, in hæpsan pinn, the pin or bolt of a hasp), = Middle Dutch pinne, Dutch pin, a pin, peg, = Middle Low German pinne, Low German pinne, pin, later G. pinn, masculine, pinne, feminine, a pin, peg, = Icelandic pinni = Swedish pinne, a peg, = Danish pind, a pin, pointed stick, = Irish Gaelic pinne, a pin, peg, spigot, = Welsh pin, a pin, style, pen, from Middle Latin pinna, a pin, nail, peak, pinnacle, probe, apparently later uses of Latin pinna, penna, feather, wing, fin, pen: see pen. The transition from ‘feather’ to ‘pin’ (a slender or pointed instrument) appears to have been through ‘pen,’ a quill, to ‘pen,’ a style or stylus, hence any slender or pointed instrument: see pen.
  2. from Middle English pinnen, pynnen; from pin, n.
  3. from Middle English pinnen, pynnen, variant of pennen, English pen, with reference to pin, v.
  4. from Middle English *pinne, *penne (?), from Anglo-Saxon pinn, a spot on the eye, prob. = Italian panno, a spot on the eye, from Middle Latin pannus, a spot on the eye, a membrane, a particular use of Latin pannus, a cloth: see pane. For the vowel relation, Anglo-Saxon i from Latin a, cf. pimple, prob. from Latin papula.
 

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/pɪn/
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