What does "bodkin" mean?
A small sharp pointed tool for making holes in cloth or leather.
Bodkin
/ˈbɒdkɪn/ adv, name, noun
adv, name, noun ·Uncommon ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A small sharp pointed tool for making holes in cloth or leather.
- Grammar: bodkin is listed as adv, name, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: threader, buffer, dagger, dirk.
- Useful contrasts: blunt instrument, close, nonpiercing tool.
- Usage evidence: "Let us have some fresh blood," he said, digging a long bodkin into his finger, and drawing off the resulting drop of blood in a chemical pipette.
How to use "bodkin"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "bodkin" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "bodkin" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "bodkin" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "bodkin" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "bodkin" is acting as adv, name, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "threader" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "bodkin", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A small sharp pointed tool for making holes in cloth or leather.
- 2 a blunt needle for threading ribbon through loops wordnet
- 3 A blunt needle used for threading ribbon or cord through a hem or casing.
"As with compulsory Sunday worship, death for blasphemy was for the third offence. A bodkin, a large blunt needle, was thrust through the tongue for the second offence."
- 4 a small sharp-pointed tool for punching holes in leather or fabric wordnet
- 5 A hairpin.
"A rich, flushed colour—large black eyes—teeth that shone from their brilliant whiteness—a slender shape—and most minute feet, in such little shoes of Cordova leather—a silver chain round her neck, to which hung a medal of the Madonna—a dark-brown boddice and short skirt, relieved by a lacing of scarlet riband—long black hair, bound in one large plait round the head, and fastened by a silver bodkin."
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 formerly a long hairpin; usually with an ornamental head wordnet
- 7 A dagger.
"When he himſelfe might his Quietus make / With a bare Bodkin?"
- 8 a dagger with a slender blade wordnet
- 9 A type of long thin arrowhead.
- 10 A sharp tool, like an awl, formerly used for pressing down individual type characters (e.g. letters) from a column or page in making corrections.
Adverb
- 1 Closely wedged between two people. not-comparable
"to sit bodkin"
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname originating as a patronymic.
Example
""Let us have some fresh blood," he said, digging a long bodkin into his finger, and drawing off the resulting drop of blood in a chemical pipette."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "bodkin"?
Common synonyms include: threader, buffer, dagger, dirk, draw, instrument.
How do you use "bodkin" in a sentence?
"Let us have some fresh blood," he said, digging a long bodkin into his finger, and drawing off the resulting drop of blood in a chemical pipette.
How do you pronounce "bodkin"?
Pronounced /ˈbɒdkɪn/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English boydekin (“dagger”), apparently from *boyde, *boide (of unknown [Celtic?] origin) + -kin. Cognate with Scots botkin, boitkin, boikin (“bodkin”).
Etymology 2
Ultimately from the Middle Dutch personal name Bodekin, a pet form of Baldwin.