a spring wire clasp with a covering catch, made so as to shield the point when closed and to prevent accidental unfastening
another word for pin
First recorded in 1855–60
First recorded in 1915–20
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Adding insult to injury, to settle a debt, Hunt sold the 1849 patent rights for something that could have kept his legacy alive: the modern-day safety pin.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 12, 2026
“But all the negotiation channels or mechanisms that North and South Korea had for preventing escalation or misunderstandings are gone. The safety pin has been pulled out.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2024
If the safety pin is still there the next time you declutter — meaning you haven’t worn the item in that time frame — it’s time to part ways.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 27, 2024
The next day, Ms Shergill swapped her flat shoes with stilettos and boarded the bus, armed with a safety pin.
From BBC ● Mar. 19, 2023
And then carefully, very carefully, I paint a safety pin through Liberty’s nose.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
She’s finding creative ways to safety-pin them on.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
And on Sunday night in New York, Ms. Versace was at it again, reincarnating the notorious safety-pin gown of 1994.
From New York Times ● Dec. 3, 2018
If I wanted to have skinny jeans like Test Icicles I couldn’t go to the shops – I had to turn a pair inside out and safety-pin them.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 7, 2016
A girl with spikily chopped hair and a safety-pin earring, a girl who was nonetheless Annagret.
From The New Yorker ● Jun. 1, 2015
Then she would safety-pin the card to the front of your shirt, and you’d have to wear it for the rest of the school day.
From "Frindle" by Andrew Clements
He leaned on old ski poles with a blue washcloth safety-pinned to the back of his ball cap.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2025
He kept all his money safety-pinned in a little pocket inside his jacket and was constantly accusing people of having opened it up and stealing his money.
From National Geographic ● Apr. 14, 2018
From Beau Brummell’s commitment to dandyism in 1790s Mayfair to the safety-pinned punks stalking Camden in the 1970s, London has a long history of creating attention-grabbing menswear.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 13, 2015
The safety-pinned recollections of time spent in fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and punk impresario Malcolm McLaren's boutique Sex add texture to the story of punk fashion's beginnings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 4, 2014
After the cashier gave her the money, Mom went into a corner of the bank and stuffed it into a sock she’d safety-pinned to her bra.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
