Jump To:

• 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

• safety pins
  plural

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

---

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.

---

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

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• safety pins
  plural

Etymology

Origin of safety pin¹

First recorded in 1855–60

Origin of safety-pin²

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

safety pin safety-pin safety-pinned

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

Jones recommends “tagging” any items you’re still wavering on with a safety pin.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 27, 2024

Many others used a much more effective tool - the ubiquitous safety pin.

From BBC ● Mar. 19, 2023

If Pilar hadn’t put in the safety pin and the bugs in the air, the painting would be almost pretty.

From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García

She’s finding creative ways to safety-pin them on.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026

The dozens of outfits to come hewed to the same concept — women in baby-themed dresses and suits, adorned with safety-pin earrings or teething rings, with whimsical matching handbags and gloves.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 9, 2021

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

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

No Values hits right in your safety-pinned sweet spot.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 7, 2024

Name tags — which my mother remembered as the sort that came with a string to tie on your suitcase — were safety-pinned to their jackets.

From New York Times ● Jul. 13, 2018

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

The next day, just as soon as his grandfather drives out of sight, Boy21 reaches into his over-the-shoulder bag and pulls out a brown robe made from bath towels safety-pinned together.

From "Boy21" by Matthew Quick