prick

American  

[prik] / prɪk /

noun

• pricks
  plural

1. a puncture made by a needle, thorn, or the like.

2. a sharp point; prickle.

3. the act of pricking.

   the prick of a needle.

4. the state or sensation of being pricked.

5. a sharp pain caused by or as if by being pricked; twinge.

6. the pointed end of a prickspur.

7. Slang: Vulgar.

   1. penis.

   2. an obnoxious or contemptible person.

8. Archaic. a goad for oxen.

9. Obsolete. a small or minute mark, a dot, or a point.

10. Obsolete. any pointed instrument or weapon.

---

verb (used with object)

• pricks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• pricked,
  past participle,  past
• pricking
  present participle

1. to pierce with a sharp point; puncture.

2. to affect with sharp pain, as from piercing.

3. to cause sharp mental pain to; sting, as with remorse, anger, etc..

   His conscience pricked him.

4. to urge on with or as if with a goad or spur.

   My duty pricks me on.

5. to mark (a surface) with pricks or dots in tracing something.

6. to mark or trace (something) on a surface by pricks or dots.

7. to cause to stand erect or point upward (usually followed byup ).

   The dog pricked his ears at the sound of the bell.

8. Farriery.

   1. to lame (a horse) by driving a nail improperly into its hoof.

   2. to nick.

      to prick a horse's tail.

9. to measure (distance, the size of an area, etc.) on a chart with dividers (usually followed byoff ).

10. Horticulture. to transplant (a seedling) into a container that provides more room for growth (usually followed by out oroff ).

verb (used without object)

• pricks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• pricked,
  past participle,  past
• pricking
  present participle

1. to perform the action of piercing or puncturing something.

2. to have a sensation of being pricked.

3. to spur or urge a horse on; ride rapidly.

4. to rise erect or point upward, as the ears of an animal (usually followed byup ).

idioms

1. kick against the pricks, to resist incontestable facts or authority; protest uselessly.

   In appealing the case again, you will just be kicking against the pricks.

2. prick up one's ears, to become very alert; listen attentively.

   The reporter pricked up his ears at the prospect of a scoop.

prick British  

/ prɪk /

verb

1. 1. to make (a small hole) in (something) by piercing lightly with a sharp point

   2. to wound in this manner

2. (intr) to cause or have a piercing or stinging sensation

3. to cause to feel a sharp emotional pain

   knowledge of such poverty pricked his conscience

4. to puncture or pierce

5. to mark, delineate, or outline by dots or punctures

6. to rise or raise erect; point

   the dog pricked his ears up at his master's call

7. to transplant (seedlings) into a larger container

8. (often foll by off) nautical to measure or trace (a course, distance, etc) on a chart with dividers

9. archaic to rouse or impel; urge on

10. archaic (intr) to ride fast on horseback; spur a horse on

11. to start to listen attentively; become interested

---

noun

1. the act of pricking or the condition or sensation of being pricked

2. a mark made by a sharp point; puncture

3. a sharp emotional pain resembling the physical pain caused by being pricked

   a prick of conscience

4. a taboo slang word for penis

5. slang an obnoxious or despicable man

6. an instrument or weapon with a sharp point, such as a thorn, goad, bee sting, etc

7. the footprint or track of an animal, esp a hare

8. obsolete a small mark caused by pricking a surface; dot; point

9. to hurt oneself by struggling against something in vain

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• pricker
  noun
• unpricked
  adjective
• prickingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• pricks
  plural

Participles

• pricking
  present
• pricked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• prick
  simple
• pricks
  simple
• have pricked
  perfect
• has pricked
  perfect
• am pricking
  progressive
• are pricking
  progressive
• is pricking
  progressive
• have been pricking
  perfect progressive
• has been pricking
  perfect progressive

Past

• pricked
  simple
• had pricked
  perfect
• was pricking
  progressive
• were pricking
  progressive
• had been pricking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will prick
  simple
• will have pricked
  perfect
• will be pricking
  progressive
• will have been pricking
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of prick

before 1000; (noun) Middle English prike; Old English prica, price dot, point; (v.) Middle English priken, Old English prician; cognate with Dutch, Low German prik point

Explanation

If you pierce your skin with a thorn, needle, or similar sharp object, you prick your skin. The mark it leaves on you is also called a prick. You can also use prick to describe the sensation of tears welling — your favorite sad movie might make tears prick your eyes. Your conscience can prick you as well, when it makes you feel uncomfortable about something. Prick is also a vulgar term for a man's penis and a way to address someone (usually a man) who is acting like a total ass. It is best not to use these terms in polite company.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

prick pricks pricked pricking

When experiencing either emotion, everything — be it a piece of news, the prick of a finger, a conversation with a loved one living thousands of miles away — is magnified.

From Salon ● Jun. 29, 2026

Still, he concluded the Fed shouldn’t try to prick bubbles with rate increases given uncertain benefits and potentially severe costs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026

Older participants regained motor strength and sensory abilities, such as feeling light touch or a pin prick, at levels similar to younger individuals.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 3, 2026

Segura, the nurse, removed the tube from my arm and pressed a cotton ball to the needle prick.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2025

Her laughter filled Olanna with a resentment as fine, as painful, as the prick of a new pin.

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Aigul Khismatullina, Queen of the Night, impresses with the silvery pricks of her high notes, while Kwangchul Youn’s Sarastro, unsteady in middle register, takes on weight at the bottom of his bass.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026

The mention of snow in our forecasts always pricks people ears up, whether it is the prospect of sledging and snowball fights, or the threat of travel disruption and school closures.

From BBC ● Dec. 24, 2024

The new needle-free technology is expected to reduce the risk of cross-contamination, needle pricks, accidental infections and unsafe disposal of contaminated needles.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 5, 2024

You could consider getting one shot in each arm if you want to avoid the discomfort of two needle pricks in the same arm.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 12, 2023

It is these anomalous, very occasional pricks in the crowded dome of the night sky that the Reverend Evans finds.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

Indonesian villager Octavius wades through the forest in rubber boots and tattered joggers, ears pricked, eyes peeled, a telephoto lens on his phone primed to capture orangutans, monkeys or birds.

From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026

They are posed dashingly on the diagonal, the German dog, ears pricked, stacked as if in the show ring.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

People blaze a trail so that other people can walk down it without getting pricked by thorns.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2025

At last, after three pricked fingers, I managed to fill the paper outline with red.

From Slate ● May 28, 2025

The thornbushes often pricked me, but I knew how to pull out the thorns.

From "Tasting the Sky" by Ibtisam Barakat

Nevertheless, there was that telltale pricking at the eyes when your mind begins to think about what might have been.

From BBC ● Apr. 26, 2026

That’s where it started when I was pricking that bubble of comedians who think they’re changing the world.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2025

Blood obtained by pricking a baby’s heel was collected on filter paper and tested for phenylketonuria, a rare metabolic condition that, if untreated, causes intellectual disability.

From Scientific American ● Nov. 13, 2023

The researchers found that people carrying three so-called Neanderthal variants in the gene SCN9A, which is implicated in sensory neurons, are more sensitive to pain from skin pricking after prior exposure to mustard oil.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 10, 2023

A rumbling motor had my ears pricking up.

From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm

Related Words

• puncture
• slit