as in puncture
a mark or small hole made by a pointed instrument
the nurse kindly put a decorated bandage over the pinprick from the injection
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pinprick
Alex Hutchinson, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2025
Karl Leitz Japan’s Firefly Squid Is Embraced by Chefs Stateside
Editors’ Picks
Image
Each spring, hotaru ika, or firefly squid, ascend to the surface of western Japan’s Toyama Bay to spawn, setting the water aglow with pinpricks of electric blue light.
—New York Times, 19 Feb. 2025
Helen Branswell, STAT, 25 Apr. 2018
Distorting drops of water pinpricked my face in the basin’s mirror.
—Dan Chiasson, The New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2017
See All Example Sentences for pinprick
Noun
Another method that has gained popularity among tech-forward self-optimizers is to use a pinprick of blood to test your lactate levels intermittently throughout a workout.
—Alex Hutchinson, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2025
Karl Leitz Japan’s Firefly Squid Is Embraced by Chefs Stateside
Editors’ Picks
Image
Each spring, hotaru ika, or firefly squid, ascend to the surface of western Japan’s Toyama Bay to spawn, setting the water aglow with pinpricks of electric blue light.
—New York Times, 19 Feb. 2025
Verb
Device testing was conducted at a refugee camp in Kakuma, Kenya, where pinprick blood samples were examined for antibodies to measles and rubella.
—Helen Branswell, STAT, 25 Apr. 2018
Distorting drops of water pinpricked my face in the basin’s mirror.
—Dan Chiasson, The New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2017
See All Example Sentences for pinprick
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pinprick
Noun
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In the Balsall Heath neighborhood, wind whistles through the puncture marks in one rotting heap where the rats and mice have burrowed in.—
Anna Cooban,
CNN Money,
5 Apr. 2025
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The girl suffered puncture wounds and scratches, but didn’t receive any stitches.—
Anna Lazarus Caplan,
People.com,
2 Apr. 2025
Verb
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At Griffith's house on the day of his death, Kelly remembers chuckling that the police officers milling around kept getting pricked by his cactuses, knowing that Griffith would have appreciated that, given his formerly adversarial relationship with law enforcement.—
Newsweek Staff,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Apr. 2025
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Ears pricked up when Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta delivered an unexpected compliment to the Chelsea side his team had just comfortably kept a clean sheet against.—
Jordan Campbell,
The Athletic,
17 Mar. 2025
Verb
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But after one particularly long period in the 13th century with no pope, the church imposed new rules that thrust the election — literally — behind closed doors.—
Joe Hernandez,
NPR,
23 Apr. 2025
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She was thrust into J.J. Yeley’s car as she was bumped off the starting grid because of ownership points.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
23 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Several viewers have shared their own opinions on what the goldendoodle's decision to stay downstairs with the man means, while others have expressed how similarly their own pets behave, or poked fun at the viral moment, causing joy among viewers.—
Melissa Fleur Afshar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 May 2025
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Pickard poked fun at himself late in the regular season for doing a double-pad stack in 2025.—
Daniel Nugent-Bowman,
New York Times,
1 May 2025
Verb
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That trend already spiraled into real-world hostility in 2024; while the song played at a bar in Germany, a crowd reportedly yelled slurs at a Black woman and punched her in the face, with one man allegedly Nazi-saluting.—
Kieran Press-Reynolds,
Pitchfork,
30 Apr. 2025
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With that win, Niemann punched his ticket to Oakmont for the U.S. Open.—
Tom Rogers,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Apr. 2025
Verb
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After Houston answered and cut the lead to just four, Gary Payton II knifed inside for two layups to give Golden State breathing room with eight minutes remaining.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
21 Apr. 2025
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Donald Nesbit was knifed multiple times in the back inside NYCHA’s Roosevelt Houses on Marcus Garvey Blvd. near DeKalb Ave.—
John Annese,
New York Daily News,
9 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pinprick.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pinprick. Accessed 5 May. 2025.
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