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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

On the floor of the locker the only mess is mine: a broken bootlace, a hatpin, and a scrap of paper with handwritten text, which I bend to pick up.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

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