haystack

American  

[hey-stak] / ˈheɪˌstæk /

noun

1. a stack of hay with a conical or ridged top, built up in the mowed field so as to prevent the accumulation of moisture and promote drying.

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haystack British  

/ ˈheɪˌrɪk, ˈheɪˌstæk /

noun

1. a large pile of hay, esp one built in the open air and covered with thatch

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haystack Idioms  

1. see needle in a haystack.

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Etymology

Origin of haystack

1425–75; late Middle English. See hay, stack

Example Sentences

I guess I should have realized that a haystack is not a smart place to hide when you’re running from fire.

From Literature

This eliminates the costs and risks associated with pinpointing naturally occurring pockets of hot water, which are like needles in a haystack.

From The Wall Street Journal

The messages, sent in 2018 and 2019—and up until the day before Epstein’s arrest—were needles in a roughly 20,000-page haystack of Epstein documents released by a House committee last week.

From The Wall Street Journal

“You were a needle in a haystack, to be sure!”

From Literature

“Are merely the haystack. Designed to engage all our attention and make the needle within impossible to see.”

From Literature