haystack

[hey-stak]

noun

1. a stack of hay with a conical or ridged top, built up in the mowed field so as to prevent the accumulation of moisture and promote drying.

haystack

/ ˈheɪˌrɪk, ˈheɪˌstæk /

noun

1. a large pile of hay, esp one built in the open air and covered with thatch

Word History and Origins

Origin of haystack¹

1425–75; late Middle English. See hay, stack

Idioms and Phrases

see needle in a haystack.

Example Sentences

I’ve used AI to summarize vast swaths of documents and pull needles from giant haystacks.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

“It’s a needle in a haystack to find an opportunity that makes financial sense to build today,” Goldstein said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The preschoolers were fascinated, looking at their classroom through the lens of an iPad camera, watching animated images pop up as a cheerful voice told them: Feed apples to a pig behind a haystack.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

"They are looking for a needle in a haystack, sometimes looking for single beetles - to get hold of the pioneer species before they are allowed to establish," Andrea Deol said.

Read more on BBC

Before services like his came along, finding work, or even the best route, was like "finding a needle in a haystack", the Freightera boss explains.

Read more on BBC