prickle

American  

[prik-uhl] / ˈprɪk əl /

noun

• prickles
  plural

1. a sharp point.

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

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

4. a pricking sensation.

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verb (used with object)

• prickles,
  present (3rd person singular)
• prickled,
  past participle,  past
• prickling
  present participle

1. to prick lightly.

2. to cause a pricking or tingling sensation in.

verb (used without object)

• prickles,
  present (3rd person singular)
• prickled,
  past participle,  past
• prickling
  present participle

1. to tingle as if pricked.

prickle British  

/ ˈprɪkəl /

noun

1. botany a pointed process arising from the outer layer of a stem, leaf, etc, and containing no woody or conducting tissue Compare thorn

2. a pricking or stinging sensation

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verb

1. to feel or cause to feel a stinging sensation

2. (tr) to prick, as with a thorn

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unprickled
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• prickles
  plural

Participles

• prickling
  present
• prickled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• prickle
  simple
• prickles
  simple
• have prickled
  perfect
• has prickled
  perfect
• am prickling
  progressive
• are prickling
  progressive
• is prickling
  progressive
• have been prickling
  perfect progressive
• has been prickling
  perfect progressive

Past

• prickled
  simple
• had prickled
  perfect
• was prickling
  progressive
• were prickling
  progressive
• had been prickling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will prickle
  simple
• will have prickled
  perfect
• will be prickling
  progressive
• will have been prickling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of prickle

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

Explanation

A prickle is a thorn or a bramble, a small, sharp place on a plant. When you're climbing over your neighbor's fence to get your Frisbee back, watch out for the prickles on their blackberry bushes! In addition to "thorny spikes," another meaning of prickle is "a pricking or tingling sensation," like the prickle that runs down your back when you hear the eerie sound of a coyote howling near your campground. To prickle is to create this sensation, a feeling that, like the word itself, is a combination of prick and a tickle.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

prickle prickles prickled prickling

George thought she had scattered his ashes at Bridlington Harbour, as per his wishes, and said the discovery had made "me feel sick and the hairs prickle on the back of my neck".

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

“It made the back of my neck prickle from its first pages, and that feeling never went away,” wrote New York Times reviewer Dwight Garner.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 19, 2022

As he signed in, the 30-year-old felt a prickle of hope.

From Washington Post ● May 7, 2022

Others will remain to prickle your conscience and your politics; the premise almost seems designed to make you squirm.

From New York Times ● Oct. 27, 2021

A prickle of worry shivered up the fox’s spine.

From "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker

Maybe there’s another reason to feel the prickles on the back of your neck.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026

Was it “Chimeras,” the electronic musician guessed by phone before a recent Berlin performance, selecting a 2006 piece where prickles of electric guitar scatter like a galaxy around a lulling beat?

From New York Times ● Apr. 25, 2023

The bad news hits us with gale force, although apprehension prickles when the ultrasound tech falls silent.

From Salon ● Jun. 4, 2022

Just beware of prickles if you have children or pets.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 6, 2022

Fear prickles inside me, in my chest and in my head and in my hands.

From "Divergent" by Veronica Roth

And yet reminders of a rather weighty August 1 trade deadline have prickled through Angel Stadium across this weekend series.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2023

As we stared into their murky depths, a sudden gust of steam stung the eyes and prickled the skin.

From New York Times ● Oct. 7, 2019

The skin prickled on the back of my neck, an involuntary reaction to what roboticists call the “uncanny valley”—the space between flesh and blood and a too-human machine.

From The New Yorker ● Oct. 7, 2019

Sweat developed on my forehead; my skin prickled.

From Salon ● Apr. 6, 2019

Omakayas could say nothing because stiff hairs prickled at the back of her neck.

From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich

"We show that the phantom touch illusion is described by most subjects as a tingling or prickling, electrifying sensation or as if the wind was passing through their hand."

From Science Daily ● Nov. 14, 2023

As an adult in Los Angeles, I thought I knew heat — that sizzling dryness that arrives each summer and fall, curing the grasses and prickling the skin.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2023

As wildfire smoke blankets large swaths of the eastern United States, many people are experiencing physical symptoms, like prickling, stinging eyes; a scratchy throat; a runny nose; and some coughing.

From New York Times ● Jun. 7, 2023

As the numbers rose, I felt a cold, prickling sensation run through my spine.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 29, 2022

When I touched my feet to it, a terrible, prickling feeling came over my skin, my muscles cramped, my eyes blurred and I got instantly dizzy.

From "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" by Robert C. O'Brien