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• safety pin
  safety pin

  noun

  a pin bent back on itself to form a spring, with a guard to cover the point.
• safety-pin
  safety-pin

  verb (used with object)

  to secure or affix with a safety pin.

safety pin

¹ American  

noun

1. a pin bent back on itself to form a spring, with a guard to cover the point.

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safety-pin ² American  

[seyf-tee-pin] / ˈseɪf tiˌpɪn /

verb (used with object)

safety-pinned, safety-pinning

1. to secure or affix with a safety pin.

   to safety-pin a child's mittens to his coat sleeve.

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safety pin British  

noun

1. a spring wire clasp with a covering catch, made so as to shield the point when closed and to prevent accidental unfastening

2. another word for pin

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Etymology

Origin of safety pin¹

First recorded in 1855–60

Origin of safety-pin²

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

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

The clothing items found with her remains included a dark-green sweater with a white safety pin attached to the front, dark-green trousers and a long-sleeved pink sweater.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 14, 2023

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

There was the litde cloth purse with the safety pin on the chair beneath her clothes and the money just wasn’t nowhere in the room.

From "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston