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
Leaders don’t need to start with the most advanced capabilities to move the needle.—Kamal Anand, Forbes.com, 20 June 2025 Fanatics Fest, which is partnering with English Premier League and FIFA for the first time this year, could help move the needle by increasing exposure for its investments into those properties.—Eric Jackson, Sportico.com, 20 June 2025
Verb
On the set, between takes, Anne needled her assistant, Young Sun, who was arranging ricotta gnocchi on a sheet pan.—Allen Salkin, HollywoodReporter, 18 June 2025 His ex-wife, Amber-Linn, played by Judy Greer, needles him about how he’s gotten stuck in an underachieving limbo.—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 5 June 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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