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• pin
  pin

  noun

  a small, slender, often pointed piece of wood, metal, etc., used to fasten, support, or attach things.
• PIN
  PIN

  noun

  a number assigned to an individual, used to establish identity in order to gain access to a computer system via an automatic teller machine, a point-of-sale terminal, or other device.

pin

¹ American  

[pin] / pɪn /

noun

• pins
  plural

1. a small, slender, often pointed piece of wood, metal, etc., used to fasten, support, or attach things.

   Synonyms:

   peg, bolt

2. a short, slender piece of wire with a point at one end and a head at the other, for fastening things together.

3. any of various forms of fasteners or ornaments consisting essentially or partly of a pointed or penetrating wire or shaft (often used in combination).

   a jeweled pin.

   Synonyms:

   brooch

4. a badge having a pointed bar or pin attached, by which it is fastened to the clothing.

   a fraternity pin.

5. Digital Technology. a photo or link that is bookmarked on Pinterest, a website and mobile application.

   She added 5 pins to her recipes board.

6. Machinery.

   1. a short metal rod, as a linchpin, driven through holes in adjacent parts, as a hub and an axle, to keep the parts together.

   2. a short cylindrical rod or tube, as a wrist pin or crankpin, joining two parts so as to permit them to move in one plane relative to each other.

   3. a short axle, as one on which a pulley rotates in a block.

7. the part of a cylindrical key stem entering a lock.

8. a clothespin.

9. a hairpin.

10. rolling pin.

11. a peg, nail, or stud marking the center of a target.

12. Bowling. any one of the rounded wooden clubs set up as the target in tenpins, ninepins, duckpins, etc.

13. Golf. the flag staff which identifies a hole.

14. any of the projecting knobs or rails on a pinball machine that serve as targets for the ball.

15. Informal. a human leg.

16. Music. peg.

17. Wrestling. a fall.

18. Nautical.

    1. an axle for a sheave of a block.

    2. belaying pin.

19. Carpentry. a tenon in a dovetail joint; dovetail.

20. a very small amount; a trifle.

    Such insincere advice isn't worth a pin.

21. Chess. the immobilization of an enemy piece by attacking with one's queen, rook, or bishop.

22. Electronics. a pin-shaped connection, as the terminals on the base of an electron tube or the connections on an integrated circuit.

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verb (used with object)

• pins,
  present (3rd person singular)
• pinned,
  past participle,  past
• pinning
  present participle

1. to fasten or attach with or as with a pin or pins.

   to pin two pieces of cloth together.

2. to hold fast in a spot or position (sometimes followed bydown ).

   The debris pinned him down.

3. to transfix or mount with a pin or the like.

   to pin a flower as a botanical specimen.

4. Chess. to immobilize (an enemy piece) by placing one's queen, rook, or bishop in a position to check the exposed king or capture a valuable piece if the pinned piece were moved.

5. Wrestling. to secure a fall over one's opponent.

6. Digital Technology.

   1. to bookmark (a photo or link) on Pinterest, a website and mobile application.

      He pinned a jacket from Macy's on his fashion board.

   2. to fix (a social media post) to the top of a feed.

      She pinned a tweet about her forthcoming book to the top of her Twitter feed.

verb (used without object)

• pins,
  present (3rd person singular)
• pinned,
  past participle,  past
• pinning
  present participle

1. Digital Technology. to bookmark a photo or link on Pinterest.

   I've been pinning a lot lately.

verb phrase

1. pin down

   1. to bind or hold to a course of action, a promise, etc.

   2. to force (someone) to deal with a situation or to come to a decision.

      We tried to pin him down for a definite answer, but he was too evasive for us.

2. pin up to make (a piece of masonry) level or plumb with wedges.

3. pin in to fill (gaps in a rubble wall, etc.) with spalls.

idioms

1. get pinned,

   1. (of a young woman) to receive a male student's fraternity pin as a symbol of his affection and fidelity, usually symbolizing that the couple is going steady or plans to become engaged.

   2. (of a young couple) to become formally pledged to one another, though not yet engaged, by the bestowing of such a pin or the exchange of pins.

2. pin something on someone, to ascribe the blame or guilt for something to a person; show someone to be culpable.

   They pinned the crime on him.

3. pull the pin, to end a relationship, project, program, or the like, because of lack of continuing interest, success, funds, etc.

PIN ² American  

[pin] / pɪn /

noun

Computers.

1. a number assigned to an individual, used to establish identity in order to gain access to a computer system via an automatic teller machine, a point-of-sale terminal, or other device.

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pin ¹ British  

/ pɪn /

noun

1. 1. a short stiff straight piece of wire pointed at one end and either rounded or having a flattened head at the other: used mainly for fastening pieces of cloth, paper, etc, esp temporarily

   2. ( in combination )

      pinhole

2. short for cotter pin hairpin panel pin rolling pin safety pin

3. an ornamental brooch, esp a narrow one

4. a badge worn fastened to the clothing by a pin

5. something of little or no importance (esp in the phrases not care or give a pin ( for ))

6. a peg or dowel

7. anything resembling a pin in shape, function, etc

8. (in various bowling games) a usually club-shaped wooden object set up in groups as a target

9. Also called: cotter pin, safety pin. a clip on a hand grenade that prevents its detonation until removed or released

10. nautical

    1. See belaying pin

    2. the axle of a sheave

    3. the sliding closure for a shackle

11. music a metal tuning peg on a piano, the end of which is inserted into a detachable key by means of which it is turned

12. surgery a metal rod, esp of stainless steel, for holding together adjacent ends of fractured bones during healing

13. chess a position in which a piece is pinned against a more valuable piece or the king

14. golf the flagpole marking the hole on a green

15. 1. the cylindrical part of a key that enters a lock

    2. the cylindrical part of a lock where this part of the key fits

16. wrestling a position in which a person is held tight or immobile, esp with both shoulders touching the ground

17. a dovetail tenon used to make a dovetail joint

18. (in Britain) a miniature beer cask containing 4 1/ 2 gallons

19. informal (usually plural) a leg

20. to be forced to make an extreme effort

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verb

1. to attach, hold, or fasten with or as if with a pin or pins

2. to transfix with a pin, spear, etc

3. informal (foll by on) to place (the blame for something)

   he pinned the charge on his accomplice

4. chess to cause (an enemy piece) to be effectively immobilized by attacking it with a queen, rook, or bishop so that moving it would reveal a check or expose a more valuable piece to capture

5. Also: underpin. to support (masonry), as by driving in wedges over a beam

PIN ² British  

/ pɪn /

acronym

1. personal identification number: a number used by a holder of a cash card or credit card used in EFTPOS

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pin More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing pin

• hear a pin drop
• on pins and needles

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• repin
  verb (used with object)

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• pins
  plural

Participles

• pinning
  present
• pinned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• pin
  simple
• pins
  simple
• have pinned
  perfect
• has pinned
  perfect
• am pinning
  progressive
• are pinning
  progressive
• is pinning
  progressive
• have been pinning
  perfect progressive
• has been pinning
  perfect progressive

Past

• pinned
  simple
• had pinned
  perfect
• was pinning
  progressive
• were pinning
  progressive
• had been pinning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will pin
  simple
• will have pinned
  perfect
• will be pinning
  progressive
• will have been pinning
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of pin¹

First recorded before 1100; Middle English noun pinne, Old English pinn “peg”; cognate with Dutch pin, German Pinne, Old Norse pinni; perhaps frrom Latin pinna “feather, quill” ( see pinna); verb from the noun

Origin of PIN²

p(ersonal) i(dentification) n(umber)

Explanation

A pin is a small, sharp device that's made for attaching and holding things together. When you sew a shirt, you first have to pin the paper pattern to the fabric with pins. Pins used for tacking paper to a bulletin board are made of sharp metal. A piece of jewelry that fastens to your shirt is also a pin. There are numerous other pins, from the pegs a guitar's strings are attached to; to the wooden pins you try to knock down when you're bowling; to the pins that hold your hairdo in place. And when you pin, you secure with a pin, or you hold someone down while wrestling.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pin PIN pins pinned pinning

In a video released by Netanyahu's office, passenger Yaniv Hayun described putting the attacker in a chokehold and pulling him out of the cockpit before other passengers helped pin him down.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

However, publicly available studies on its projects “are non-existent, leaving few anchors on which to pin modeling assumptions.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

As he’s spoken to audiences of government officials, diplomats, academics and journalists, Dans — who wears his Arctic commission lapel pin and exudes a professorial air — has also waded into foreign policy.

From Salon ● Sep. 16, 2026

By “put a pin in” it, Roberts meant that the Dodgers didn’t have a timetable for when Ohtani might throw again, making it likely that he won’t pitch again this year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026

Held captive by his wife’s temper like an insect stuck on a pin, the baron squirmed and blushed until he finally turned to Edward Ashton.

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

“Tell us right away if you think your card or PIN has been lost or stolen,” the Direct Express website says.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026

Skimmers, which fit snugly over payment terminals and look nearly identical, electronically capture the account number and user PIN during a purchase.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

The PIN would come from ID such as a driver’s license or could be generated from the county.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

She said the fake NatWest fraud team member rushed through password changes, phone ID changes, and other "security steps", including providing her PIN to "prove the bank cards belonged to her".

From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2026

I start dialing, enter my PIN, enter my own number.

From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini

And the levels of skill, drama and grit on display only served to underline those comments, with the American players also poignantly wearing custom pins to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

There was a skid, followed by the unmistakable sound of dog meeting trash cans: bowling ball, pins.

From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026

Capanna said a universal travel adaptor that lets multiple pins extend at once is "the most immediate sign it is dangerous", posing real risks of electric shock or electrocution.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

I have like six authentic Disney pins here.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026

The eldest pulled the pins from her hair, shaking out the thick, chestnut waves that fell to her waist.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

The U2 story began in those same halls and corridors five decades ago, when 14-year-old Larry Mullen Jr pinned a handwritten note to the school noticeboard.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

In addition to flagging the Fed’s own shortcomings, that report pinned much of the blame on the bank’s executives and on a shift toward laxer regulatory policy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

"That works beautifully as long as everyone agrees the accelerator stays pinned to the floor. It becomes more complicated when the top dogs running the biggest AI engines start discussing speed governors."

From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026

First, when Orange Lutheran’s punter pinned Basha inside its own three-yard line, Rhoa was the first to come off the sidelines and get excited for his teammate.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026

Someone else did, and they pinned it on him.

From "Fast Pitch" by Nic Stone

Unfortunately for Schmitt, pinning potential perjury charges on a basketball game Smith never attended was probably never going to work.

From Slate ● Sep. 29, 2026

The U.S. is also pinning some of its hopes on the deal it has made with Venezuela for that country’s crude.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026

Scott played that way against the 49ers, pinning them deep in their territory more than once.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

After pinning Azan Awais with his first ball, the seamer probed Masood's outside edge from round the wicket before switching the angle of his attack in his third over.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

Trotter gave a little cry as she came crashing down, pinning Gilly to the rug beneath her.

From "The Great Gilly Hopkins" by Katherine Paterson

Related Words

• affix
• bind
• clasp
• fasten
• fix