hatpin

American

[hat-pin] / ˈhætˌpɪn /

noun

a long pin for securing a woman's hat to her hair, often having a bulbous decorative head of colored glass, simulated pearl, or the like.

hatpin British

/ ˈhætˌpɪn /

noun

a sturdy pin used to secure a woman's hat to her hair, often having a decorative head

"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

Etymology

Origin of hatpin

First recorded in 1890–95; hat + pin

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

She fought with her own weapon — an 8-inch hatpin — while the other boys ran for help.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 26, 2022

In a 2012 essay, he deftly sticks a hatpin into Julian Assange.

From New York Times • Feb. 19, 2018

This slightly cubic orb in fine green straw is pierced by a cylinder: a hatpin wittily exaggerated to the scale of a bolt.

From New York Times • Sep. 22, 2011

According to Lady Sings the Blues, she accidentally pierced her scalp with a hatpin and sang with blood trickling down her face.

From The Guardian • Feb. 16, 2011

She stopped on the landing, one hand on the rail, the other reaching for her hatpin.

From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023