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darning needle

American  

noun

  1. a long needle with a long eye used in darning.

  2. Chiefly Northern and Western U.S. a dragonfly.


darning needle British  

noun

  1. a long needle with a large eye used for darning

  2. a dialect name for a dragonfly

"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

Regionalisms

See dragonfly.

Etymology

Origin of darning needle

First recorded in 1755–65

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.

See Examples For:

Flesh & Blood President Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers finally yielded his mother-in-law's missing darning needle.

From Time Magazine Archive

But Henner and George Landis were not antique dealers, never sold so much as a darning needle.

From Time Magazine Archive

He looked, and there gleaming up at him like a reptilian eye glittered in his incision the end of a steel darning needle.

From Time Magazine Archive

It was the size of a darning needle.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

Mrs. Hickock rethreaded her darning needle; her husband rocked his rocker and sucked on an unlit pipe.

From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote

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