Meaning & use
pin
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Meanings
nouncountable
A short thin piece of metal with a sharp point, used to fasten cloth or paper in place.
Grammar: A countable noun: a box of pins, a safety pin.
Patterns
- a pin in something
She held the hem in place with a pin.
He stuck a pin in the map to mark the town.
The tailor kept pins in a small cushion.
nouncountable
A secret number used to prove who you are when using a bank card or phone.
Grammar: Usually written PIN, short for personal identification number, and often shortened wrongly to PIN number.
Patterns
- enter your pin
- change the pin
Enter your pin before you take out the money.
I forgot my pin and the card was blocked.
Never tell anyone your pin.
verbtransitive
To fasten something in place with a pin or something like it.
Grammar: Takes an object, with a place word: pin a note to the board.
Patterns
- pin something to something
- pin something on something
- pin something up
She pinned the notice to the board.
He pinned a badge on his jacket.
The teacher pinned the pictures up on the wall.
verbtransitive
To hold someone or something firmly so that it cannot move.
Grammar: Takes an object, often with down or against: pinned him to the floor.
Patterns
- pin someone down
- pin someone against something
- be pinned under something
The wrestler pinned his opponent in seconds.
A fallen tree pinned the car against the fence.
Heavy fire pinned the soldiers down for an hour.
Word forms
| plural | pins |
|---|---|
| third person singular | pins |
| past tense | pinned |
| past participle | pinned |
| -ing form | pinning |
Common combinations
- safety pin
- She fastened the strap with a safety pin.
- pin down
- I cannot pin down exactly when it happened.
- pin your hopes on
- They pinned their hopes on a late goal.
- pin the blame on
- Nobody wanted to pin the blame on a colleague.
- drop a pin
- Drop a pin on the map so I can find you.
Synonyms and how they differ
- fasten
- Fasten is a general word for attaching with anything, while pin names a specific method using a pin.
- attach
- Attach is wider and can be used for glue, screws or email files, while pin suggests a small sharp fastener.
- immobilize
- Immobilize is formal and clinical, whereas pin means physically holding down a person or object.
- tack
- Tack means fixing with a short nail or stitches, so it is similar but often used for light temporary fixing.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: pin or pen? pin or pine?
pin vs pen
A pen is a tool for writing with ink. A pin is a small sharp metal fastener, and the two differ by one vowel.
pin vs pine
Pine is a type of tree, and as a verb it means to long for someone. It is not the same as pin.
Practice
Which word completes the sentence: The police could not ___ down the exact time of the break-in.
Choose one answer.
Pin down means to identify something exactly. Tack and stick do not form this phrasal verb in this meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pin”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.