prick

American  

[prik] / prɪk /

noun

pricks plural

1. a puncture made by a needle, thorn, or the like.

2. a sharp point; prickle.

3. the act of pricking.

   the prick of a needle.

4. the state or sensation of being pricked.

5. a sharp pain caused by or as if by being pricked; twinge.

6. the pointed end of a prickspur.

7. Slang: Vulgar.

   1. penis.

   2. an obnoxious or contemptible person.

8. Archaic. a goad for oxen.

9. Obsolete. a small or minute mark, a dot, or a point.

10. Obsolete. any pointed instrument or weapon.

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verb (used with object)

pricks, present (3rd person singular) pricked, past participle, past pricking present participle

1. to pierce with a sharp point; puncture.

2. to affect with sharp pain, as from piercing.

3. to cause sharp mental pain to; sting, as with remorse, anger, etc..

   His conscience pricked him.

4. to urge on with or as if with a goad or spur.

   My duty pricks me on.

5. to mark (a surface) with pricks or dots in tracing something.

6. to mark or trace (something) on a surface by pricks or dots.

7. to cause to stand erect or point upward (usually followed byup ).

   The dog pricked his ears at the sound of the bell.

8. Farriery.

   1. to lame (a horse) by driving a nail improperly into its hoof.

   2. to nick.

      to prick a horse's tail.

9. to measure (distance, the size of an area, etc.) on a chart with dividers (usually followed byoff ).

10. Horticulture. to transplant (a seedling) into a container that provides more room for growth (usually followed by out oroff ).

verb (used without object)

pricks, present (3rd person singular) pricked, past participle, past pricking present participle

1. to perform the action of piercing or puncturing something.

2. to have a sensation of being pricked.

3. to spur or urge a horse on; ride rapidly.

4. to rise erect or point upward, as the ears of an animal (usually followed byup ).

idioms

1. kick against the pricks, to resist incontestable facts or authority; protest uselessly.

   In appealing the case again, you will just be kicking against the pricks.

2. prick up one's ears, to become very alert; listen attentively.

   The reporter pricked up his ears at the prospect of a scoop.

prick British  

/ prɪk /

verb

1. 1. to make (a small hole) in (something) by piercing lightly with a sharp point

   2. to wound in this manner

2. (intr) to cause or have a piercing or stinging sensation

3. to cause to feel a sharp emotional pain

   knowledge of such poverty pricked his conscience

4. to puncture or pierce

5. to mark, delineate, or outline by dots or punctures

6. to rise or raise erect; point

   the dog pricked his ears up at his master's call

7. to transplant (seedlings) into a larger container

8. (often foll by off) nautical to measure or trace (a course, distance, etc) on a chart with dividers

9. archaic to rouse or impel; urge on

10. archaic (intr) to ride fast on horseback; spur a horse on

11. to start to listen attentively; become interested

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noun

1. the act of pricking or the condition or sensation of being pricked

2. a mark made by a sharp point; puncture

3. a sharp emotional pain resembling the physical pain caused by being pricked

   a prick of conscience

4. a taboo slang word for penis

5. slang an obnoxious or despicable man

6. an instrument or weapon with a sharp point, such as a thorn, goad, bee sting, etc

7. the footprint or track of an animal, esp a hare

8. obsolete a small mark caused by pricking a surface; dot; point

9. to hurt oneself by struggling against something in vain

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• pricker
  noun
• unpricked
  adjective
• prickingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• pricks
  plural

Participles

• pricking
  present
• pricked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• prick
  simple
• pricks
  simple
• have pricked
  perfect
• has pricked
  perfect
• am pricking
  progressive
• are pricking
  progressive
• is pricking
  progressive
• have been pricking
  perfect progressive
• has been pricking
  perfect progressive

Past

• pricked
  simple
• had pricked
  perfect
• was pricking
  progressive
• were pricking
  progressive
• had been pricking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will prick
  simple
• will have pricked
  perfect
• will be pricking
  progressive
• will have been pricking
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of prick

before 1000; (noun) Middle English prike; Old English prica, price dot, point; (v.) Middle English priken, Old English prician; cognate with Dutch, Low German prik point

Explanation

If you pierce your skin with a thorn, needle, or similar sharp object, you prick your skin. The mark it leaves on you is also called a prick. You can also use prick to describe the sensation of tears welling — your favorite sad movie might make tears prick your eyes. Your conscience can prick you as well, when it makes you feel uncomfortable about something. Prick is also a vulgar term for a man's penis and a way to address someone (usually a man) who is acting like a total ass. It is best not to use these terms in polite company.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

prick pricks pricked pricking

When experiencing either emotion, everything — be it a piece of news, the prick of a finger, a conversation with a loved one living thousands of miles away — is magnified.

From Salon ● Jun. 29, 2026

Babies can be identified as having SMA through a heel prick test and early treatment can prolong their lives.

From BBC ● Mar. 22, 2026

A flurry of such tests that look for multiple cancers with a prick are in various stages of development.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 2, 2026

Older participants regained motor strength and sensory abilities, such as feeling light touch or a pin prick, at levels similar to younger individuals.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 3, 2026

The two tiger cubs, romping in the jungle undergrowth near their den, prick up their ears.

From "Tiger, Tiger" by Lynne Reid Banks

"I was on 10 to 15 finger pricks and five or six injections. I actually had a phobia of needles, so it wasn't a good start."

From BBC ● Jan. 18, 2026

The new needle-free technology is expected to reduce the risk of cross-contamination, needle pricks, accidental infections and unsafe disposal of contaminated needles.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 5, 2024

And when a final showdown arrives — several women and girls chirping out an animalistic warning — the hair on the back of your neck pricks up.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2024

Graceffo talked about how her dosage routine had changed from a dozen finger pricks and multiple injections a day to a glucose monitor and pump that continuously measure and administer insulin.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 16, 2023

I swipe my hand over its surface and a splinter pricks my finger.

From "The House That Lou Built" by Mae Respicio

I was more nervous about opening up my medical records to a chatbot than getting my arm pricked.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 4, 2026

In a story in “Ladies’ Lunch,” an old woman, disheveled after an outing, looks in a mirror and sees “what Diane Arbus might have seen. She gazed, appalled, and being appalled pricked her interest.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026

Please bleed more, I thought, looking at my pricked finger.

From Slate ● May 28, 2025

BBC Sport understands senior figures with at least one MLC team have had their interest pricked by Anderson's comments last month about a return to white-ball cricket.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2024

Rashid’s words pricked at him like the splinters in the board he held in his hands.

From "Time Bomb" by Joelle Charbonneau

Lisandra's nine-year-old daughter set off for school that morning with nothing in her stomach, she explains, tears pricking her eyes.

From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2026

That’s where it started when I was pricking that bubble of comedians who think they’re changing the world.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2025

It is only then, once you are still, that a now low, whipping wind, riddled with sand begins pricking and abrading your skin and collecting in the pages of your novel; it is intolerable.

From Salon ● Apr. 25, 2025

Blood obtained by pricking a baby’s heel was collected on filter paper and tested for phenylketonuria, a rare metabolic condition that, if untreated, causes intellectual disability.

From Scientific American ● Nov. 13, 2023

I feel his gaze on my back, pricking the hairs on my neck.

From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black

Related Words

• puncture
• slit