pin Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a piece of jewelry that is pinned onto the wearer's garment
  2. noun when a wrestler's shoulders are forced to the mat
    fall.
  3. noun small markers inserted into a surface to mark scores or define locations etc.
    peg.
  4. noun a number you choose and use to gain access to various accounts
    personal identification number; PIN number.
  5. noun informal terms for the leg
    peg; stick.
    • fever left him weak on his sticks
  6. noun axis consisting of a short shaft that supports something that turns
    pivot.
  7. noun 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
    pin tumbler.
  8. noun flagpole used to mark the position of the hole on a golf green
    flag.
  9. noun a small slender (often pointed) piece of wood or metal used to support or fasten or attach things
  10. noun a holder attached to the gunwale of a boat that holds the oar in place and acts as a fulcrum for rowing
    oarlock; rowlock; thole; peg; tholepin.
  11. noun a club-shaped wooden object used in bowling; set up in triangular groups of ten as the target
    bowling pin.
  12. verb to hold fast or prevent from moving
    immobilize; immobilise; trap.
    • The child was pinned under the fallen tree
  13. verb attach or fasten with pins or as if with pins
    • pin the needle to the shirt". "pin the blame on the innocent man
  14. verb pierce with a pin
    • pin down the butterfly
  15. verb immobilize a piece

WordNet

Pin transitive verb
Definitions
  1. (Metal Working) To peen.
Pin transitive verb
Etymology
Cf. Pen to confine, or Pinfold.
Definitions
  1. To inclose; to confine; to pen; to pound.
Pin noun
Etymology
OE. pinne, AS. pinn a pin, peg; cf. D. pin, G. pinne, Icel. pinni, W. pin, Gael. & Ir. pinne; all fr. L. pinna a pinnacle, pin, feather, perhaps orig. a different word from pinna feather. Cf. Fin of a fish, Pen a feather.
Definitions
  1. A piece of wood, metal, etc., generally cylindrical, used for fastening separate articles together, or as a support by which one article may be suspended from another; a peg; a bolt.
    With pins of adamant And chains they made all fast. Milton.
  2. Especially, a small, pointed and headed piece of brass or other wire (commonly tinned), largely used for fastening clothes, attaching papers, etc.
  3. Hence, a thing of small value; a trifle.
    He . . . did not care a pin for her. Spectator.
  4. That which resembles a pin in its form or use; as: (a) A peg in musical instruments, for increasing or relaxing the tension of the strings. (b) A linchpin. (c) A rolling-pin. (d) A clothespin. (e) (Mach.) A short shaft, sometimes forming a bolt, a part of which serves as a journal. See Illust. of Knuckle joint, under Knuckle. (f) (Joinery) The tenon of a dovetail joint.
  5. One of a row of pegs in the side of an ancient drinking cup to mark how much each man should drink.
  6. The bull's eye, or center, of a target; hence, the center. Obs. "The very pin of his heart cleft." Shak.
  7. Mood; humor. Obs. "In merry pin." Cowper.
  8. (Med.) Caligo. See Caligo. Shak.
  9. An ornament, as a brooch or badge, fastened to the clothing by a pin; as, a Masonic pin.
  10. The leg; as, to knock one off his pins. Slang a toy with lightweight, usually brightly colored vanes, as of plastic, which revolve on a pin at the end of a stick, when acted on by a wind
Pin transitive verb
Etymology
See Pin, n.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Pinned ; present participle & verbal noun Pinning
Definitions
  1. To fasten with, or as with, a pin; to join; as, to pin a garment; to pin boards together.
    "Aa if she would pin her to her heart." Shak.

Webster 1913