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• pin
  pin

  noun

  a small, slender, often pointed piece of wood, metal, etc., used to fasten, support, or attach things.
• PIN
  PIN

  noun

  a number assigned to an individual, used to establish identity in order to gain access to a computer system via an automatic teller machine, a point-of-sale terminal, or other device.

pin

¹ American  

[pin] / pɪn /

noun

• pins
  plural

1. a small, slender, often pointed piece of wood, metal, etc., used to fasten, support, or attach things.

   Synonyms:

   peg, bolt

2. a short, slender piece of wire with a point at one end and a head at the other, for fastening things together.

3. 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.

   Synonyms:

   brooch

4. a badge having a pointed bar or pin attached, by which it is fastened to the clothing.

   a fraternity pin.

5. Digital Technology. a photo or link that is bookmarked on Pinterest, a website and mobile application.

   She added 5 pins to her recipes board.

6. Machinery.

   1. a short metal rod, as a linchpin, driven through holes in adjacent parts, as a hub and an axle, to keep the parts together.

   2. 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.

   3. a short axle, as one on which a pulley rotates in a block.

7. the part of a cylindrical key stem entering a lock.

8. a clothespin.

9. a hairpin.

10. rolling pin.

11. a peg, nail, or stud marking the center of a target.

12. Bowling. any one of the rounded wooden clubs set up as the target in tenpins, ninepins, duckpins, etc.

13. Golf. the flag staff which identifies a hole.

14. any of the projecting knobs or rails on a pinball machine that serve as targets for the ball.

15. Informal. a human leg.

16. Music. peg.

17. Wrestling. a fall.

18. Nautical.

    1. an axle for a sheave of a block.

    2. belaying pin.

19. Carpentry. a tenon in a dovetail joint; dovetail.

20. a very small amount; a trifle.

    Such insincere advice isn't worth a pin.

21. Chess. the immobilization of an enemy piece by attacking with one's queen, rook, or bishop.

22. Electronics. a pin-shaped connection, as the terminals on the base of an electron tube or the connections on an integrated circuit.

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verb (used with object)

• pins,
  present (3rd person singular)
• pinned,
  past participle,  past
• pinning
  present participle

1. to fasten or attach with or as with a pin or pins.

   to pin two pieces of cloth together.

2. to hold fast in a spot or position (sometimes followed bydown ).

   The debris pinned him down.

3. to transfix or mount with a pin or the like.

   to pin a flower as a botanical specimen.

4. 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.

5. Wrestling. to secure a fall over one's opponent.

6. Digital Technology.

   1. to bookmark (a photo or link) on Pinterest, a website and mobile application.

      He pinned a jacket from Macy's on his fashion board.

   2. 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.

verb (used without object)

• pins,
  present (3rd person singular)
• pinned,
  past participle,  past
• pinning
  present participle

1. Digital Technology. to bookmark a photo or link on Pinterest.

   I've been pinning a lot lately.

verb phrase

1. pin down

   1. to bind or hold to a course of action, a promise, etc.

   2. 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.

2. pin up to make (a piece of masonry) level or plumb with wedges.

3. pin in to fill (gaps in a rubble wall, etc.) with spalls.

idioms

1. get pinned,

   1. (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.

   2. (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.

2. 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.

3. pull the pin, to end a relationship, project, program, or the like, because of lack of continuing interest, success, funds, etc.

PIN ² American  

[pin] / pɪn /

noun

Computers.

1. a number assigned to an individual, used to establish identity in order to gain access to a computer system via an automatic teller machine, a point-of-sale terminal, or other device.

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pin ¹ British  

/ pɪn /

noun

1. 1. 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

   2. ( in combination )

      pinhole

2. short for cotter pin hairpin panel pin rolling pin safety pin

3. an ornamental brooch, esp a narrow one

4. a badge worn fastened to the clothing by a pin

5. something of little or no importance (esp in the phrases not care or give a pin ( for ))

6. a peg or dowel

7. anything resembling a pin in shape, function, etc

8. (in various bowling games) a usually club-shaped wooden object set up in groups as a target

9. Also called: cotter pin, safety pin. a clip on a hand grenade that prevents its detonation until removed or released

10. nautical

    1. See belaying pin

    2. the axle of a sheave

    3. the sliding closure for a shackle

11. 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

12. surgery a metal rod, esp of stainless steel, for holding together adjacent ends of fractured bones during healing

13. chess a position in which a piece is pinned against a more valuable piece or the king

14. golf the flagpole marking the hole on a green

15. 1. the cylindrical part of a key that enters a lock

    2. the cylindrical part of a lock where this part of the key fits

16. wrestling a position in which a person is held tight or immobile, esp with both shoulders touching the ground

17. a dovetail tenon used to make a dovetail joint

18. (in Britain) a miniature beer cask containing 4 1/ 2 gallons

19. informal (usually plural) a leg

20. to be forced to make an extreme effort

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verb

1. to attach, hold, or fasten with or as if with a pin or pins

2. to transfix with a pin, spear, etc

3. informal (foll by on) to place (the blame for something)

   he pinned the charge on his accomplice

4. 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

5. Also: underpin. to support (masonry), as by driving in wedges over a beam

PIN ² British  

/ pɪn /

acronym

1. personal identification number: a number used by a holder of a cash card or credit card used in EFTPOS

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pin More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing pin

• hear a pin drop
• on pins and needles

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• repin
  verb (used with object)

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• pins
  plural

Participles

• pinning
  present
• pinned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• pin
  simple
• pins
  simple
• have pinned
  perfect
• has pinned
  perfect
• am pinning
  progressive
• are pinning
  progressive
• is pinning
  progressive
• have been pinning
  perfect progressive
• has been pinning
  perfect progressive

Past

• pinned
  simple
• had pinned
  perfect
• was pinning
  progressive
• were pinning
  progressive
• had been pinning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will pin
  simple
• will have pinned
  perfect
• will be pinning
  progressive
• will have been pinning
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of pin¹

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

Origin of PIN²

p(ersonal) i(dentification) n(umber)

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Explanation

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pin PIN pins pinned pinning

When the student is done, De La Cruz hugs her and presents her with an American flag pin and a personalized Monica De La Cruz challenge coin.

From Slate ● Nov. 2, 2026

The band struggled to pin down the final track list, finalizing it barely a month ago.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026

"To pin that on this administration, I don't think is a fair assessment," he said.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

"I welcome Izmir Mayor Cemil Tugay who is today joining the AKP family," Erdogan said as Tugay walked onto the stage and was handed a party pin.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

“Bother them all! I don’t care a pin about them.”

From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker

The PIN would come from ID such as a driver’s license or could be provided by the county.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

“Tell us right away if you think your card or PIN has been lost or stolen,” the Direct Express website says.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026

The caller—who shares your Yooper accent from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula—warns you that someone is trying to wire a large sum from your account, then requests your PIN to stop the transaction.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026

Also, it will never ask you to transfer money, or ask for PIN codes or passwords.

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026

I dial the 800 number, enter my PIN, dial Nia.

From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini

They can include muscle and joint aches, stiffness and swelling, reduced strength and pins and needles.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

There was a skid, followed by the unmistakable sound of dog meeting trash cans: bowling ball, pins.

From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026

Some years later a cat keyboard emerged, featuring keys that activated hammers to which pins were attached.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

To be sold in the UK, adaptors must not have accessible live parts and only one set of pins should come out at a time.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

Aru wanted to believe this meant they would find objects like deflated basketballs, mismatched socks, or bobby pins.

From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi

It’s not that Schoenbrun is bad at making movies, but their mind seems to operate like a story map, with hundreds of red strings pinned between plot points.

From Salon ● Oct. 29, 2026

Four overs later he pinned Travis Head lbw on review for 14 and Marnus Labuschagne was brilliantly caught at slip by Simon Harmer off the bowling of Anrich Nortje for the same score.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026

Witnesses told national broadcaster ABC they heard a bang and saw a woman pinned between two cars.

From Barron's ● Oct. 19, 2026

I swung the nose of the CrossWave toward shore and pinned the throttle.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

Frank’s old centurion badge was pinned to his shirt, despite the fact that the demigods of the Argo II were now Public Enemies Numbers 1 through 7 back at Camp Jupiter.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

Rather than pinning grand hopes and dreams to his books, he simply aims to help everyday people make sense of something they otherwise may not have time to.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026

When he heard the chaos unfolding outside, he rushed to help, pinning down the suspect.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026

Unfortunately for Schmitt, pinning potential perjury charges on a basketball game Smith never attended was probably never going to work.

From Slate ● Sep. 29, 2026

The U.S. is also pinning some of its hopes on the deal it has made with Venezuela for that country’s crude.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026

“It’s a headpiece for Rosie,” she says, pinning it to her chest with her chin and spreading the rest of it across her front.

From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen

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Related Words

• affix
• bind
• clasp
• fasten
• fix

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