What does "prick" mean?
A small hole or perforation, caused by piercing.
Prick
/pɹɪk/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A small hole or perforation, caused by piercing.
- Grammar: prick is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: cock, dick, aculeus, acuminate.
- Useful contrasts: angel, blunt, bluntness.
- Usage evidence: As the boat sailed on westwards, the captain looked back at how far they had come, and felt a tear prick the corner of his eye.
How to use "prick"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "prick" 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 "prick" 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 "prick" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "prick" 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 "prick" 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 "cock" 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 "prick", 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 hole or perforation, caused by piercing.
- 2 the act of puncturing with a small point wordnet
- 3 An indentation or small mark made with a pointed object.
- 4 obscene terms for penis wordnet
- 5 A dot or other diacritical mark used in writing; a point. obsolete
Show 12 more definitions
- 6 insulting terms of address for people who are stupid or irritating or ridiculous wordnet
- 7 A tiny particle; a small amount of something; a jot. obsolete
- 8 a depression scratched or carved into a surface wordnet
- 9 A small pointed object.
"Pins, wooden pricks, nails, sprigs of rosemary."
- 10 The experience or feeling of being pierced or punctured by a small, sharp object.
"I felt a sharp prick as the nurse took a sample of blood."
- 11 A feeling of remorse.
"1768–1777, Abraham Tucker, The Light of Nature Pursued the pricks of conscience"
- 12 The penis. slang, vulgar
"Patriarchal attitudes have made a society where men rule and women obey, where "you'd-better-know-your-place-boy," where gay men actually play husband-and-wife (my lover and I did it for four years, until it became intolerable), where king prick lays down the law."
- 13 Someone (especially a male) who is unpleasant, rude or annoying. derogatory, slang
- 14 A small roll of yarn or tobacco. historical
- 15 The footprint of a hare.
- 16 A point or mark on the dial, noting the hour. obsolete
"the prick of noon"
- 17 The point on a target at which an archer aims; the mark; the pin. obsolete
"they that shooten nearest the prick"
Verb
- 1 To pierce or puncture slightly. transitive
"John hardly felt the needle prick his arm when the adept nurse drew blood."
- 2 stab or urge on as if with a pointed stick wordnet
- 3 To pierce or puncture slightly.; To drive a nail into (a horse's foot), so as to cause lameness. transitive
- 4 make a small hole into, as with a needle or a thorn wordnet
- 5 To pierce or puncture slightly.; To shoot without killing. transitive
"They had shot at old Tom, the hare, too, but he is still alive; at least I pricked him yesterday morn across the path into the turnip field."
Show 20 more definitions
- 6 deliver a sting to wordnet
- 7 To form by piercing or puncturing. transitive
"to prick holes in paper"
- 8 to cause a sharp emotional pain wordnet
- 9 To mark or denote by a puncture; to designate by pricking; to choose; to mark. obsolete
"c. 1620, Francis Bacon, letter of advice to Sir George Villiers Some who are pricked for sheriffs."
- 10 to stick up wordnet
- 11 To mark the surface of (something) with pricks or dots; especially, to trace a ship’s course on (a chart). transitive
- 12 cause a prickling sensation wordnet
- 13 To run a middle seam through the cloth of a sail. obsolete
- 14 cause a stinging pain wordnet
- 15 To fix by the point; to attach or hang by puncturing.
"The cooks [...]prick it [a slice] on a prog of iron."
- 16 To be punctured; to suffer or feel a sharp pain, as by puncture. dated, intransitive
"A sore finger pricks."
- 17 To make or become sharp; to erect into a point; to raise, as something pointed; said especially of the ears of an animal, such as a horse or dog; and usually followed by up. ambitransitive
"The dog's ears pricked up at the sound of a whistle."
- 18 Usually in the form prick out: to plant (seeds or seedlings) in holes made in soil at regular intervals.
"Seed should be sown thinly and evenly to enable seedlings to be pricked out without disturbing those that have just emerged. If there is space, seedlings should be pricked out individually, either into small pots or module trays."
- 19 To incite, stimulate, goad. transitive
"My duty pricks me on to utter that."
- 20 To urge one's horse on; to ride quickly. archaic, intransitive
"At last, as through an open plaine they yode, They spide a knight that towards them pricked fayre [...]."
- 21 To affect with sharp pain; to sting, as with remorse.
"Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart."
- 22 To make acidic or pungent. transitive
"For then their late Attracts decline, And turn as eager as prick'd Wine"
- 23 To become sharp or acid; to turn sour, as wine. intransitive
- 24 To aim at a point or mark.
"This prayse belongeth to stronge shootinge and drawinge of mightye bowes, not to prickinge, and nere shootinge."
- 25 to dress or adorn; to prink. obsolete, usually
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"As the boat sailed on westwards, the captain looked back at how far they had come, and felt a tear prick the corner of his eye."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "prick"?
Common synonyms include: cock, dick, aculeus, acuminate, acumination, acute pain.
How do you use "prick" in a sentence?
As the boat sailed on westwards, the captain looked back at how far they had come, and felt a tear prick the corner of his eye.
How do you pronounce "prick"?
Pronounced /pɹɪk/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English prik, prikke, from Old English prica, pricu (“a sharp point, minute mark, spot, dot, small portion, prick”), from Proto-West Germanic *prikō, *priku, from Proto-Germanic *prikô, *prikō (“a prick, point”), of uncertain origin, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *breyǵ- (“to scrape, scratch, rub, prickle, chap”). Cognate with West Frisian prik (“small hole”), West Frisian prikke (“penis”), Dutch prik (“point, small stick", also "penis”), Danish prik (“dot”), Icelandic prik (“dot, small stick”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English prikken, from Old English prician, priccan (“to prick”), from Proto-Germanic *prikōną, *prikjaną (“to pierce, prick”), of uncertain origin; perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *breyǵ- (“to scrape, scratch, rub, prickle, chap”). Cognate with dialectal English pritch, Dutch prikken (“to prick, sting”), Middle High German pfrecken (“to prick”), Swedish pricka (“to dot, prick”), and possibly to Lithuanian įbrėžti (“to scrape, scratch, carve, inscribe, strike”).