Pin Definition

pĭn
pinned, pinning, pins
noun
pins
A little piece of stiff wire with a pointed end and a flattened or rounded head, used for fastening things together or holding them in place; straight pin.
Webster's New World
A peg of wood, metal, etc., used esp. for fastening or holding things together or as a support on which to hang things.
Webster's New World
A whit; a jot.
Didn't care a pin about the matter.
American Heritage
Something worthless or insignificant; trifle.
Webster's New World
Anything like a pin in form, use, etc.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
verb
pinned, pinning, pins
To fasten with or as with a pin.
Webster's New World
To transfix.
American Heritage
To pierce with a pin.
Webster's New World
To hold firmly in one place or position.
Webster's New World
To hold fast; immobilize.
He was pinned under the wreckage of the truck.
American Heritage
Antonyms:
adjective
Having a grain suggestive of the heads of pins. Used of leather.
American Heritage
abbreviation
Personal identification number.
American Heritage
Personal identification number.
Wiktionary
idiom
pin down
  • to get (someone) to make a decision, commitment, etc.
  • to determine or confirm (a fact, details, etc.)
Webster's New World
pin someone's ears back
  • to beat, defeat, or scold someone soundly
Webster's New World
pin something on someone
  • to lay the blame for something on someone
Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Pin

Noun

Singular:
pin
Plural:
pins

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Pin

  • pin down
  • pin someone's ears back
  • pin something on someone

Origin of Pin

  • From Middle English pinne, from Old English pinn (“pin, peg, bolt"), from Proto-Germanic *pinnaz, *pinnō, *pint- (“protruding point, peak, peg, pin, nail"), from Proto-Indo-European *bend- (“protruding object, pointed peg, nail, edge"). Cognate with Dutch pin (“peg, pin"), Low German pin, pinne (“pin, point, nail, peg"), German Pinn, Pinne (“pin, tack, peg"), Bavarian Pfonzer, Pfunzer (“sharpened point"), Danish pind (“pin, pointed stick"), Norwegian pinn (“knitting-needle"), Swedish pinne (“peg, rod, stick"), Icelandic pinni (“pin"). More at pintle.

    From Wiktionary

  • No relation to classical Latin pinna (“fin, flipper, wing-like appendage, wing, feather"), which was extended to mean "ridge, peak, point" (compare pinnacle), and often confused with Latin penna (“wing, feather"). More at feather.

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English from Old English pinn perhaps from Latin pinna feather pet- in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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