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Synonyms

on pins and needles

Cultural  

  1. In a state of anxiety or tense expectation: “Jackie was on pins and needles waiting to hear about her job application.”

on pins and needles Idioms  

  1. Nervously anxious, as in He was on pins and needles, waiting for the test results. The graphic expression pins and needles for the tingling sensation experienced in recovering from numbness was transferred to a feeling of marked mental uneasiness about 1800.

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.

"We're on pins and needles to see if Powell will say anything that suggests they will taper the size of rate increases going forward," Hogan said, referring to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

From Reuters • Oct. 31, 2022

“I was just sitting on pins and needles, waiting for it to all shake out.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 19, 2022

“I’ve not heard anything, honestly. I’m on pins and needles waiting.”

From New York Times • Nov. 4, 2021

“I’m living on pins and needles because I can’t get answers from anybody,” he said.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 4, 2021

He must have been on pins and needles for a long time, worried that somebody’d find out, because he broke down right then and there and confessed the whole thing.

From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool

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.