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
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
If that doesn’t move the needle for you, the off-the-chart seismometer readings might.—James Grebey, TIME, 19 July 2024 Use tangible stakeholder stories demonstrating how your efforts solve the challenge, make an impact and move a needle.—Rolling Stone Culture Council, Rolling Stone, 19 July 2024
Verb
Democrats, meanwhile, needled Trump for once donating to Harris.—Ashley Parker, Washington Post, 21 July 2024 Russian state media did not miss the opportunity to needle the West.—Clare Sebastian, CNN, 19 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for needle
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'needle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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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