prickle

[ prik-uh l ]

/ ˈprɪk əl /

SEE MORE 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.

Nearby words

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

Related forms

un·prick·led, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for prickling

And then, like a prickling of cold, there passed over him once more that little sense of danger.
Young People's Pride|Stephen Vincent Benet
He woke some time later with the prickling feeling of danger on his skin.
The Buttoned Sky|Geoff St. Reynard
Meanwhile, his person became emaciated, and he complained to his brother that he experienced a prickling sensation in the head.
The Modern Scottish Minstrel, Volume II.|Various
That instant, wherever the weight of his hand had been, the prickling began.
The Wonder of War on Land|Francis Rolt-Wheeler

A prickling sensation coursed up his spine, his extended arm went numb, his hand trembled violently.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science January 1930|Victor Rousseau

British Dictionary definitions for prickling

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