a small, slender, often pointed piece of wood, metal, etc., used to fasten, support, or attach things.
a short, slender piece of wire with a point at one end and a head at the other, for fastening things together.
any of various forms of fasteners or ornaments consisting essentially or partly of a pointed or penetrating wire or shaft (often used in combination).
a jeweled pin.
a badge having a pointed bar or pin attached, by which it is fastened to the clothing.
a fraternity pin.
Digital Technology. a photo or link that is bookmarked on Pinterest, a website and mobile application.
She added 5 pins to her recipes board.
Machinery.
a short metal rod, as a linchpin, driven through holes in adjacent parts, as a hub and an axle, to keep the parts together.
a short cylindrical rod or tube, as a wrist pin or crankpin, joining two parts so as to permit them to move in one plane relative to each other.
a short axle, as one on which a pulley rotates in a block.
the part of a cylindrical key stem entering a lock.
a clothespin.
a hairpin.
a peg, nail, or stud marking the center of a target.
Bowling. any one of the rounded wooden clubs set up as the target in tenpins, ninepins, duckpins, etc.
Golf. the flag staff which identifies a hole.
any of the projecting knobs or rails on a pinball machine that serve as targets for the ball.
Informal. a human leg.
Music. peg.
Wrestling. a fall.
Nautical.
an axle for a sheave of a block.
Carpentry. a tenon in a dovetail joint; dovetail.
a very small amount; a trifle.
Such insincere advice isn't worth a pin.
Chess. the immobilization of an enemy piece by attacking with one's queen, rook, or bishop.
Electronics. a pin-shaped connection, as the terminals on the base of an electron tube or the connections on an integrated circuit.
to fasten or attach with or as with a pin or pins.
to pin two pieces of cloth together.
to hold fast in a spot or position (sometimes followed bydown ).
The debris pinned him down.
to transfix or mount with a pin or the like.
to pin a flower as a botanical specimen.
Chess. to immobilize (an enemy piece) by placing one's queen, rook, or bishop in a position to check the exposed king or capture a valuable piece if the pinned piece were moved.
Wrestling. to secure a fall over one's opponent.
Digital Technology.
to bookmark (a photo or link) on Pinterest, a website and mobile application.
He pinned a jacket from Macy's on his fashion board.
to fix (a social media post) to the top of a feed.
She pinned a tweet about her forthcoming book to the top of her Twitter feed.
pin down
to bind or hold to a course of action, a promise, etc.
to force (someone) to deal with a situation or to come to a decision.
We tried to pin him down for a definite answer, but he was too evasive for us.
pin up to make (a piece of masonry) level or plumb with wedges.
pin in to fill (gaps in a rubble wall, etc.) with spalls.
get pinned,
(of a young woman) to receive a male student's fraternity pin as a symbol of his affection and fidelity, usually symbolizing that the couple is going steady or plans to become engaged.
(of a young couple) to become formally pledged to one another, though not yet engaged, by the bestowing of such a pin or the exchange of pins.
pin something on someone, to ascribe the blame or guilt for something to a person; show someone to be culpable.
They pinned the crime on him.
pull the pin, to end a relationship, project, program, or the like, because of lack of continuing interest, success, funds, etc.
a short stiff straight piece of wire pointed at one end and either rounded or having a flattened head at the other: used mainly for fastening pieces of cloth, paper, etc, esp temporarily
( in combination )
pinhole
short for cotter pin hairpin panel pin rolling pin safety pin
an ornamental brooch, esp a narrow one
a badge worn fastened to the clothing by a pin
something of little or no importance (esp in the phrases not care or give a pin ( for ))
a peg or dowel
anything resembling a pin in shape, function, etc
(in various bowling games) a usually club-shaped wooden object set up in groups as a target
Also called: cotter pin. safety pin. a clip on a hand grenade that prevents its detonation until removed or released
nautical
See belaying pin
the axle of a sheave
the sliding closure for a shackle
music a metal tuning peg on a piano, the end of which is inserted into a detachable key by means of which it is turned
surgery a metal rod, esp of stainless steel, for holding together adjacent ends of fractured bones during healing
chess a position in which a piece is pinned against a more valuable piece or the king
golf the flagpole marking the hole on a green
the cylindrical part of a key that enters a lock
the cylindrical part of a lock where this part of the key fits
wrestling a position in which a person is held tight or immobile, esp with both shoulders touching the ground
a dovetail tenon used to make a dovetail joint
(in Britain) a miniature beer cask containing 4 1/ 2 gallons
informal (usually plural) a leg
to be forced to make an extreme effort
to attach, hold, or fasten with or as if with a pin or pins
to transfix with a pin, spear, etc
informal (foll by on) to place (the blame for something)
he pinned the charge on his accomplice
chess to cause (an enemy piece) to be effectively immobilized by attacking it with a queen, rook, or bishop so that moving it would reveal a check or expose a more valuable piece to capture
Also: underpin. to support (masonry), as by driving in wedges over a beam
First recorded before 1100; Middle English noun pinne, Old English pinn “peg”; cognate with Dutch pin, German Pinne, Old Norse pinni; perhaps frrom Latin pinna “feather, quill” ( see pinna); verb from the noun
p(ersonal) i(dentification) n(umber)
A pin is a small, sharp device that's made for attaching and holding things together. When you sew a shirt, you first have to pin the paper pattern to the fabric with pins. Pins used for tacking paper to a bulletin board are made of sharp metal. A piece of jewelry that fastens to your shirt is also a pin. There are numerous other pins, from the pegs a guitar's strings are attached to; to the wooden pins you try to knock down when you're bowling; to the pins that hold your hairdo in place. And when you pin, you secure with a pin, or you hold someone down while wrestling.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But when it comes to predicting cliff collapses along California’s iconic shoreline, the science has been infamously tricky to pin down.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
To fight the industry’s double standards, she created a wealth of her own, making Madonna impossible to pin down and thus endlessly fascinating.
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026
There wasn’t much fundamental news on which to pin gains—no Wall Street upgrades or downgrades.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
They add that it will be difficult to pin down the normalized EPS level until the company issues 2027 guidance in January.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
Neat as a pin, Aunt Pretty would say.
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
Voters mailing ballots would be required to write a four-digit number, essentially a PIN, on their ballot envelopes matching the one generated when they registered to vote.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2026
Typically, you authorize this exchange with a face scan, fingerprint reader or a PIN code if your device doesn’t support those biometric options.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 11, 2025
The mysterious addressee was then sent seven letters, a bank card, a PIN, overdraft limit warnings and a warning that an outstanding debt could be referred to a credit reference agency.
From BBC ● Nov. 24, 2025
That would make entering a PIN even more of a rarity, as smartphones - with extra in-built security - already have no limit on contactless payments via a digital wallet.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2025
I dial the 800 number, enter my PIN, dial Nia.
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
The spikes, designed to maximise his biomechanics, featured a carbon plate and aggressive rocker for propulsion, and titanium pins to keep the shoe light.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
League players say they interfere with how the pins would fall naturally, sometimes knocking over pins that should have stayed up or impeding other pins from falling down.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
In the company’s factory office in Norwalk, Conn., hangs a locator map of the U.S. dotted with pins marking thousands of viewer locations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026
The Iran World Cup team arrived in Tijuana wearing lapel pins on their jackets acknowledging victims of a Feb. 28 missile strike on an elementary school.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
She was shaky on her pins, but sharp-eyed.
From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck
The rise in the headline gauge can be pinned almost entirely on tradables inflation, which, fanned by oil prices, jumped from 2.5% to a three-year high of 4.9%, he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Sports loves scapegoats, but it can’t be pinned on one moment or individual.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
"The person was pinned down but could move their hand. And I got them out alive," said Faramaya, who says he uses "nothing but a pickaxe and a shovel" to pick through the rubble.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
Croatia were then pinned back under a wave of attacks, particularly for one spell midway through the half, which they somehow survived until Marcus Rashford wrapped up the win late on.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
Tara asks, looking over the diagrams pinned to the walls.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
They wanted to keep the ball, move up the pitch as a unit before - when pinning the opposition in their own third - trying to break down the low block.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
She pushes buttons because she’s trying to get them to admit something, or she’s pinning the fly to the bulletin board and watching it squirm.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
It is pinning its hopes on a new family of EVs starting with a $30,000 truck.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026
Laguarta is also pinning his hopes on PepsiCo's sponsorship of this summer's World Cup, being hosted in the US, Mexico and Canada.
From BBC ● Apr. 16, 2026
Each time they approached the grove of pine trees where the asphalt loop met the main road, she leaned forward, pinning all her weight against the brake as cars hurtled past.
From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
