needle

needle is part of the Basic English 850.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /'niː.dl//
•  Audio (US)^{help, file}

Noun

Singular needle

Plural needles

1. A needle is a small, long, thin sharp metal thing with a hole in it, used for sewing.

   She used a needle and blue thread to fix the hole in the shirt.

2. A needle is a long, thing, sharp metal thing for putting drugs into a person through the skin.

   The doctor used the needle to inject the medicine into the patient.

• 

  A needle for sewing

• 

  A hypodermic needle

Verb

Plain form needle

Third-person singular needles

Past tense needled

Past participle needled

Present participle needling

1. (transitive) To tease; to make fun of.

   Billy needled his sister incessantly about her pimples.