haystack

noun hay·stack \ ˈhā-ˌstak \

Updated on: 13 May 2018

Definition of haystack

1 : a stack of hay

2 : a vertical standing wave in turbulent river waters

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Recent Examples of haystack from the Web

Instead of three dozen heartfelt letters shut up in a desk, future historians and archivists will have to sift through not haystacks, but entire hay fields worth of memories and records.

— alex kingsbury, BostonGlobe.com, "You’ve got mail — for now," 10 May 2018
Federal investigators are looking for needles in the haystack, with banks continuing to dump more hay.

— the washington post, OregonLive.com, "North Korean leader suspends nuclear and missile tests, shuts down test site," 20 Apr. 2018
Forget the needle-in-a-haystack cliché: Finding a human bone in the Nefud Desert—a windswept oval patch of sand dunes the size of Kentucky—is perhaps the world’s most impressive example of an unlikely find.

— lorraine boissoneault, Smithsonian, "Rare 85,000-year-old Finger May Complicate Our Understanding of African Migration," 10 Apr. 2018
Look for soups, salads and sandwiches like the Dapper Dipper (slices of slow-roasted tri-tip with crispy onion haystack, Swiss cheese, creamy horseradish and au jus for dipping).

— jennifer mcclellan, azcentral, "New restaurants in Phoenix in March: 37 openings in a month may set a record," 2 Apr. 2018
Muslims represent no more than 2 percent of the U.S. population, so finding a mate is a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack.

— abigail hauslohner, Washington Post, "Muslim, millennial and single: A generation struggles to find love," 14 Feb. 2018
Paul may have been talking about lily ponds and haystacks but, well, point taken.

— alexander nazaryan, Newsweek, "Street Art's New Class War," 14 Oct. 2013
The 2018 spring movie season has begun, but with no fewer than 60 new movies expected to arrive over the next three months, finding the good stuff can be a needle-in-a-haystack proposition.

— mike scott, NOLA.com, "Spring Movie Preview 2018: 7 best bets headed to theaters," 8 Feb. 2018
Amateur astronomer Scott Tilley was in his home office on a recent evening, using his radio equipment to scan space in a needle-in-a-haystack search for a spy satellite operated by the U.S. Air Force.

— allison klein, Anchorage Daily News, "Meet the amateur astronomer who found NASA’s lost satellite in space," 2 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'haystack.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of haystack

15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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HAYSTACK Defined for English Language Learners

haystack

noun

Definition of haystack for English Language Learners

: a large pile of hay

HAYSTACK Defined for Kids

haystack

noun hay·stack \ ˈhā-ˌstak \

Definition of haystack for Students

: a large pile of hay stored outdoors

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See words that rhyme with haystack Spanish Central: Translation of haystack Nglish: Translation of haystack for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of haystack for Arabic speakers

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