darning needle

noun

a long needle with a long eye used in darning.
Chiefly Northern and Western U.S. a dragonfly.

Origin of darning needle

First recorded in 1755–65

regional variation note For darning needle

2. See dragonfly.

Words Nearby darning needle

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use darning needle in a sentence

At this minyit a lady standin' behind th' chair dhrove a darning needle through his coat tails.
Mr. Dooley Says | Finley Dunne
See that damsel fly, the slender, smaller, pretty-colored darning-needle?
Little Busybodies | Jeanette Augustus Marks and Julia Moody
He was nearly six feet already, with a long, thin body and head which amply justified his school nickname of 'the darning-needle.'
Robert Elsmere | Mrs. Humphry Ward
There was a silence as she paused with the darning-needle in the air.
The Strand Magazine, Volume XXVII, Issue 160, April, 1904 | Various
Fill into squab and then sew up with darning needle and stout string.
Mrs. Wilson's Cook Book | Mary A. Wilson

British Dictionary definitions for darning needle

darning needle

noun

a long needle with a large eye used for darning
US and Canadian a dialect name for a dragonfly

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Browse