needle

CEFRB1

/ˈniː.dəl/

noun · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A thin, sharp tool used for sewing.

  2. 02

    verb

    To annoy someone repeatedly.

Examples

  • It is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

  • My grandma stooped down and picked up a needle and thread.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
2

Also pronounced

  • [ˈnɪi̯.dəl] ~ [ˈnɪi̯.dl̩]

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A fine measurement indicator on a dial or graph.

  2. Any slender, pointed object resembling a needle, such as a pointed crystal, a sharp pinnacle of rock, an obelisk, etc.

  3. A long, thin, sharp implement usually for piercing as in sewing, embroidery, acupuncture, tattooing, body piercing, medical injections, sutures, etc; or a blunt but otherwise similar implement used for forming loops or knots in crafts such as darning, knitting, tatting, etc.

More examples

In context

  • The seamstress threaded the needle to sew on a button.

  • reusable needles

  • single-use needles

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The tailor used a thin blank to sew the button back on.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English nedle, from Old English nǣdl, from Proto-West Germanic *nāþlu, from Proto-Germanic *nēþlō, from pre-Germanic *neh₁-tleh₂, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)neh₁- (“to spin, twist”). Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian Näddele (“sewing needle”), Dutch naald (“needle”), German Nadel (“needle, pin, crochet hook”), nähen (“sew”), Luxembourgish Nol (“needle”), Vilamovian nöłd (“needle”), Yiddish נאָדל (nodl, “needle, pin”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, Swedish nål (“needle”), Elfdalian ną̊l (“needle”), Faroese, Icelandic nál (“needle”), Gothic 𐌽𐌴𐌸𐌻𐌰 (nēþla, “sewing needle”), Finnish neula (“needle”). Further related with Welsh nyddu, Latin nēre, Sanskrit स...