Added 7 October 2026
pin
/pɪn/ symbol
In Latin: acus Wiktionary
symbol Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about pin at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
noun
- A needle without an eye (usually) made of drawn-out steel wire with one end sharpened and the other flattened or rounded into a head, used for fastening.
- A small nail with a head and a sharp point.
-
A cylindrical piece of solid material, often of wood or metal, used to fasten or as a bearing between two parts.
Pull the pin out of the grenade before throwing it at the enemy.
verb
verb
- Alternative form of peen.
Origin
From Middle English pinne, from Old English pinn (“pin, peg, bolt”), from Proto-Germanic *pinnaz, *pinnō, *pint- (“protruding point, peak, peg, pin, nail”), from Proto-Indo-European *bend- (“protruding object, pointed peg, nail, edge”). Related to pen (“enclosure”). Cognate with Dutch pin (“peg, pin”), Low German pin, pinne (“pin, point, nail, peg”), German Pinn, Pinne (“pin, tack, peg”), Bavarian Pfonzer, Pfunzer (“sharpened point”), Danish pind (“pin, pointed stick”), Norwegian pinn (“stick”), Swedish pinne (“peg, rod, stick”), Icelandic pinni (“pin”). More at pintle.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)