What does "pin" mean?
A needle without an eye (usually) made of drawn-out steel wire with one end sharpened and the other flattened or rounded into a head, used for fastening.
Pin
/pɪn/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A needle without an eye (usually) made of drawn-out steel wire with one end sharpened and the other flattened or rounded into a head, used for fastening.
- Grammar: pin is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: peg, a continental, a curse, a damn.
- Useful contrasts: approximate, detach, free.
- Usage evidence: Investigators are trying to pin down the cause of today's fire.
How to use "pin"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "pin" 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 "pin" 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 "pin" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "pin" 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 "pin" is acting as noun, verb, slang 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 "peg" 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 "pin", 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 needle without an eye (usually) made of drawn-out steel wire with one end sharpened and the other flattened or rounded into a head, used for fastening.
"With pins of adamant / And chains they made all fast."
- 2 A cataract of the eye.
- 3 Acronym of personal identification number. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of
- 4 Initialism of preferred IUPAC name. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 5 a club-shaped wooden object used in bowling; set up in triangular groups of ten as the target wordnet
Show 33 more definitions
- 6 A small nail with a head and a sharp point.
- 7 a holder attached to the gunwale of a boat that holds the oar in place and acts as a fulcrum for rowing wordnet
- 8 A cylinder often of wood or metal used to fasten or as a bearing between two parts.
"Pull the pin out of the grenade before throwing it at the enemy."
- 9 a small slender (often pointed) piece of wood or metal used to support or fasten or attach things wordnet
- 10 The victory condition of holding the opponent's shoulders on the wrestling mat for a prescribed period of time.
- 11 a piece of jewelry that is pinned onto the wearer's garment wordnet
- 12 A slender object specially designed for use in a specific game or sport, such as skittles or bowling.
- 13 flagpole used to mark the position of the hole on a golf green wordnet
- 14 A leg. in-plural, informal
"I'm not so good on my pins these days."
- 15 cylindrical tumblers consisting of two parts that are held in place by springs; when they are aligned with a key the bolt can be thrown wordnet
- 16 Any of the individual connecting elements of a multipole electrical connector.
"The UK standard connector for domestic mains electricity has three pins."
- 17 axis consisting of a short shaft that supports something that turns wordnet
- 18 A piece of jewellery that is attached to clothing with a pin.
- 19 informal terms for the leg wordnet
- 20 A simple accessory that can be attached to clothing with a pin or fastener, often round and bearing a design, logo or message, and used for decoration, identification or to show political affiliation, etc. US
- 21 a number you choose and use to gain access to various accounts wordnet
- 22 Either a scenario in which moving a lesser piece to escape from attack would expose a more valuable piece to being taken instead, or one where moving a piece is impossible as it would place the king in check.
- 23 small markers inserted into a surface to mark scores or define locations etc. wordnet
- 24 The flagstick: the flag-bearing pole which marks the location of a hole
- 25 when a wrestler's shoulders are forced to the mat wordnet
- 26 The spot at the exact centre of the house (the target area)
"The shot landed right on the pin."
- 27 The spot at the exact centre of the target, originally a literal pin that fastened the target in place.
"For kings are clouts that euery man ſhoots at, Our Crowne the pin that thouſands ſeeke to cleaue."
- 28 A mood, a state of being. obsolete
"Hee sett Promethius, on a merrye pynn, / Whoe dranke soe devillishly, that there he gott / A terrible heartburninge, […]"
- 29 One of a row of pegs in the side of an ancient drinking cup to mark how much each person should drink.
- 30 Caligo. obsolete
"Blind with the pin and web"
- 31 A thing of small value; a trifle.
"He […] did not care a pin for her."
- 32 A peg in musical instruments for increasing or relaxing the tension of the strings.
- 33 A short shaft, sometimes forming a bolt, a part of which serves as a journal.
- 34 The tenon of a dovetail joint.
- 35 A size of brewery cask, equal to half a firkin, or eighth of a barrel. UK
"Our ground crew were lodged in the main station, but they came to the cottage for a party when operations for the night had been cancelled and we had a new ‘gong’ (decoration) to celebrate. On these occasions we always installed a pin of bitter."
- 36 A pinball machine. informal
"I spent most of my time in the arcade playing pins."
- 37 A small cylindrical object which blocks the rotation of a pin-tumbler lock when the incorrect key is inserted.
- 38 An injection of PEDs. slang
Verb
- 1 To fasten or attach (something) with a pin. often
- 2 Alternative form of peen. alt-of, alternative
- 3 (chess) immobilize a piece wordnet
- 4 To cause (a piece) to be in a pin.
- 5 to hold fast or prevent from moving wordnet
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 To pin down (someone).
"He pinned his opponent on the mat."
- 7 attach or fasten with pins wordnet
- 8 To enclose; to confine; to pen; to pound.
- 9 pierce with a pin wordnet
- 10 To attach (an icon, application, message etc.) to another item so that it persists. transitive
"to pin a folder to the taskbar"
- 11 To fix (an array in memory, a security certificate, etc.) so that it cannot be modified. transitive
"When marshaling data, the interop marshaler can copy or pin the data being marshaled."
- 12 To cause an analog gauge to reach the stop pin at the high end of the range. transitive
"Now I need to pin those needles."
- 13 To inject for performance enhancement. ambitransitive, slang
- 14 To move a piece onto a blot, preventing the piece from further movement.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Investigators are trying to pin down the cause of today's fire."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "pin"?
Common synonyms include: peg, a continental, a curse, a damn, a darn, a hoot.
How do you use "pin" in a sentence?
Investigators are trying to pin down the cause of today's fire.
How do you pronounce "pin"?
Pronounced /pɪn/.
Etymology
From Middle English pinne, from Old English pinn (“pin, peg, bolt”), from Proto-Germanic *pinnaz, *pinnō, *pint- (“protruding point, peak, peg, pin, nail”), from Proto-Indo-European *bend- (“protruding object, pointed peg, nail, edge”). Related to pen (“enclosure”). Cognate with Dutch pin (“peg, pin”), Low German pin, pinne (“pin, point, nail, peg”), German Pinn, Pinne (“pin, tack, peg”), Bavarian Pfonzer, Pfunzer (“sharpened point”), Danish pind (“pin, pointed stick”), Norwegian pinn (“stick”), Swedish pinne (“peg, rod, stick”), Icelandic pinni (“pin”). More at pintle. No relation to classical Latin pinna (“fin, flipper, wing-like appendage, wing, feather”), which was extended to mean "ridge, peak, point" (compare pinnacle), and often confused with Latin penna (“wing, feather”). More at feather and pen (Etymology 3).