ninepins
Americannoun
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(used with a singular verb) tenpins played without the head pin.
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ninepin, a pin used in this game.
noun
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(functioning as singular) another name for skittles See skittle
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(singular) one of the pins used in this game
Etymology
Origin of ninepins
1570–80; nine + pin ( def. 12 )
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.
A football fan stuck in hours of tailbacks during Storm Bram has described seeing at least 10 overturned lorries "scattered like ninepins" on the M74.
From BBC • Dec. 10, 2025
"People went down like ninepins," Jacques, who runs Le Queenie restaurant on the seafront, told France Info radio.
From Reuters • Jul. 14, 2016
An attempted kiss can trip them up as effectively as any banana peel, while gentle caresses somehow turn into body slams that knock over their recipients like ninepins.
From New York Times • Jul. 22, 2012
The co-operation that was so evident in October 2008, when the banks were falling like ninepins, was nowhere to be seen.
From The Guardian • Oct. 11, 2010
Melanie wasn’t sure they ought to use up one of Marshall’s tenpins; but April pointed out that there was nothing wrong with the game of ninepins.
From "The Egypt Game" by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
