Meaning & use
pin prick
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Meanings
nouncountable
a very small hole or mark made in the skin by the sharp point of a pin.
Grammar: Countable: use a/an or a plural: a pin prick, several pin pricks.
Patterns
- a pin prick in something
- a pin prick on something
The nurse gave me a tiny pin prick to test my blood.
There was a small pin prick on her finger where the needle had gone in.
He felt a pin prick on his arm and then nothing.
nouncountablefigurative
a small but annoying problem or difficulty that is not serious on its own.
Grammar: Often used in the plural for a series of small problems: pin pricks of doubt.
Patterns
- pin pricks of something
- a pin prick of doubt
The new rules caused a few pin pricks for drivers, but nothing major.
She felt a pin prick of worry when he didn't call.
These small pin pricks of criticism began to wear him down.
Word forms
| plural | pin pricks |
|---|
Common combinations
- a pin prick of doubt
- He had a pin prick of doubt about signing the contract.
- a tiny pin prick
- The injection felt like a tiny pin prick.
- feel a pin prick
- I felt a pin prick when I touched the rose bush.
- pin-prick wound
- The doctor cleaned the pin-prick wound on his thumb.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- pinprick noun
- A less common spelling of the same word, often used in medical contexts.
Commonly confused: pin prick or pinprick?
pin prick vs pinprick
This is just a spelling variant; both are correct, but 'pin prick' is more common in general writing.
Practice
The nurse warned that the injection would feel like a ___.
Choose one answer.
A 'pin prick' is the noun for a small sharp sensation. The other forms are not standard nouns; 'pin pricked' and 'pin pricking' would be verbs, which don't fit after 'like a'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pin prick”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.