pinprick

[pin-prik]

noun

1. any minute puncture made by a pin or the like.

2. a negligible irritation or annoyance.

pinprick

/ ˈpɪnˌprɪk /

noun

1. a slight puncture made by or as if by a pin

2. a small irritation

verb

1. (tr) to puncture with or as if with a pin

Word History and Origins

Origin of pinprick¹

First recorded in 1745–55; pin + prick

Example Sentences

He tailors his training to meet a targeted exertional threshold and monitors his lactate levels with pinprick blood tests.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"Nowadays, we literally need a pinprick size amount of blood or any other cellular material to be able to get a full profile."

Read more on BBC

It’s death by a thousand pinpricks, a succession of small indignities.

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The blast created a mini-sandstorm that pelted the gallery of patrons like a million pinpricks.

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Specifically, they can unfold a single proton into multiple higher dimensions, enabling them to print computer circuits with the surface area of a planet onto a particle smaller than a pinprick.

Read more on New York Times