pricking

American  

[prik-ing] / ˈprɪk ɪŋ /

noun

1. the act of a person or thing that pricks.

2. a prickly or smarting sensation.

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Etymology

Origin of pricking

before 1000; Middle English; Old English pricung; see prick, -ing ¹

Example Sentences

"I was left without an active test, other than the fingerprint testing. Pricking your finger 100 times a week is a nightmare, so the app and the sensor is really helpful."

From BBC • Jul. 14, 2023

That could be a model for an updated Sleeping Beauty: Pricking her finger didn’t go well for her, either.

From New York Times • Apr. 9, 2016

Pricking the heroic egos of Lancelot and Galahad would suit Edmund’s sardonic skillset, and operating in an era of magic would stretch his self-centred ingenuity to the limit.

From The Guardian • Aug. 24, 2015

Pricking the blackness a few miles offshore were the lights of the Coast Guard cutter Pontchartrain, cruising slowly.

From Time Magazine Archive

Lie close," Laura said, Pricking up her golden head: "We must not look at goblin men.

From Poetry of the Supernatural by Various