Pricking

//ˈpɹɪkɪŋ// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The act of piercing or puncturing with a sharp point. countable, uncountable

    "The prickings of thorns"

  2. 2
    the act of puncturing with a small point wordnet
  3. 3
    A sensation that pricks, or causes sharp emotional pain. countable, figuratively, uncountable

    "the prickings of conscience"

  4. 4
    The driving of a nail into a horse's foot so as to produce lameness. countable, uncountable

    "THE pricking a horse has proved to be as useless an operation as it is simple, seldom or never having the desired effect; consequently the practice should be abolished"

  5. 5
    A nicking. countable, uncountable

    "No better material can be used than seggar or underclay prickings"

Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    The act of tracing a hare by its footmarks. countable, uncountable
  2. 7
    Dressing oneself for show; prinking. countable, obsolete, uncountable
Verb
  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of prick form-of, gerund, participle, present

Synonyms

All synonyms
boreboringbristlyencouragementincitementinsistence

Example

More examples

"By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes."

Related phrases

pricking at the beltpricking-up

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.