Noun
I need a needle and thread to sew the button on your shirt.
The needle on the scale points to 9 grams.
The compass needle points north. Verb
His classmates needled him about his new haircut.
we needled him mercilessly for thinking that he had any chance of being the prom date for the school's most popular girl
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Noun
Zone 1 — which extends 30 feet from a building — requires property owners to do things such as clear dead plants, grass as well as leaves and pine needles from yards, roofs and gutters; trim overhanging branches; and keep a 10-foot gap between trees.—Hannah Ruhoff, Sacbee.com, 26 Sep. 2025 Historical uses include fountain pen tips and phonograph needle points, where hardness and wear resistance were essential.—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 26 Sep. 2025
Verb
After nearly a decade of using the sign to needle the beer capital, Anheuser-Busch walked away from the ad and was replaced by Miller Brewing.—Chris Foran, jsonline.com, 24 Sep. 2025 Resentment soon starts needling away at them as Theo goes over budget and Ivy feels her role as a mother has been usurped — the kids are now too health-conscious even to touch her desserts.—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 25 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for needle
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English nedle, from Old English nǣdl; akin to Old High German nādala needle, nājan to sew, Latin nēre to spin, Greek nēn
First Known Use
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
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