prickle

[ prik-uh l ]

/ ˈprɪk əl /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR prickle ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a sharp point.

a small, pointed process growing from the bark of a plant.

a sharp process or projection, as from the skin of an animal; a spine.

a pricking sensation.

verb (used with object), prick·led, prick·ling.

to prick lightly.

to cause a pricking or tingling sensation in.

verb (used without object), prick·led, prick·ling.

to tingle as if pricked.

Words nearby prickle

prick-eared, prick-post, pricker, pricket, pricking, prickle, prickle cell, prickle cell layer, prickleback, prickly, prickly ash

Origin of prickle

before 950; Middle English prykel (noun), Old English pricel. See prick, -le

OTHER WORDS FROM prickle

un·prick·led, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for prickle

The leaf was described to me as having a prickle upon it, and the flower as of a yellow colour.
Narrative of the surveying voyages of His Majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle, between the years 1826 and 1836|Robert FitzRoy
Miss Margot looked as if she might—under provocation—display a prickle or two of her own!
Big Game|Mrs. George de Horne Vaizey
It bears a round Bur, with a sort of Prickle, which is the Seed.
A New Voyage to Carolina|John Lawson
A gasp of amazement, a prickle, a shudder, ran over the skin of that susceptible assembly.
"Persons Unknown"|Virginia Tracy

Not the prickle induced by the enemy installations, it was a real coded call picked up by his sonic, and one he knew.
Key Out of Time|Andre Alice Norton

British Dictionary definitions for prickle

prickle

/ (ˈprɪkəl) /

noun

botany a pointed process arising from the outer layer of a stem, leaf, etc, and containing no woody or conducting tissueCompare thorn (def. 1)

a pricking or stinging sensation

verb

to feel or cause to feel a stinging sensation

(tr) to prick, as with a thorn

Word Origin for prickle

Old English pricel; related to Middle Low German prekel, German Prickel

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

prickle

noun

verb (used with object), prick·led, prick·ling.

verb (used without object), prick·led, prick·ling.

Words related to prickle

Words nearby prickle

Origin of prickle

OTHER WORDS FROM prickle

Examples from the Web for prickle

British Dictionary definitions for prickle

noun

verb

Word Origin for prickle