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prick
[ prik ]
noun
- a puncture made by a needle, thorn, or the like.
- a sharp point; prickle.
- the act of pricking:
the prick of a needle.
- the state or sensation of being pricked.
- a sharp pain caused by or as if by being pricked; twinge.
- the pointed end of a prickspur.
- Slang: Vulgar.
- an obnoxious or contemptible person.
- Archaic. a goad for oxen.
- Obsolete. a small or minute mark, a dot, or a point.
- Obsolete. any pointed instrument or weapon.
verb (used with object)
- to pierce with a sharp point; puncture.
- to affect with sharp pain, as from piercing.
- to cause sharp mental pain to; sting, as with remorse, anger, etc.:
His conscience pricked him.
- to urge on with or as if with a goad or spur:
My duty pricks me on.
- to mark (a surface) with pricks or dots in tracing something.
- to mark or trace (something) on a surface by pricks or dots.
- to cause to stand erect or point upward (usually followed by up ):
The dog pricked his ears at the sound of the bell.
- Farriery.
- to lame (a horse) by driving a nail improperly into its hoof.
- to nick:
to prick a horse's tail.
- to measure (distance, the size of an area, etc.) on a chart with dividers (usually followed by off ).
- Horticulture. to transplant (a seedling) into a container that provides more room for growth (usually followed by out or off ).
verb (used without object)
- to perform the action of piercing or puncturing something.
- to have a sensation of being pricked.
- to spur or urge a horse on; ride rapidly.
- to rise erect or point upward, as the ears of an animal (usually followed by up ).
prick
/ prɪk /
verb
- to make (a small hole) in (something) by piercing lightly with a sharp point
- to wound in this manner
- intr to cause or have a piercing or stinging sensation
- to cause to feel a sharp emotional pain
knowledge of such poverty pricked his conscience
- to puncture or pierce
- to mark, delineate, or outline by dots or punctures
- also intrusually foll byup to rise or raise erect; point
the dog pricked his ears up at his master's call
- usually foll byout or off to transplant (seedlings) into a larger container
- often foll by off nautical to measure or trace (a course, distance, etc) on a chart with dividers
- archaic.to rouse or impel; urge on
- archaic.intr to ride fast on horseback; spur a horse on
- prick up one's earsprick up one's ears to start to listen attentively; become interested
noun
- the act of pricking or the condition or sensation of being pricked
- a mark made by a sharp point; puncture
- a sharp emotional pain resembling the physical pain caused by being pricked
a prick of conscience
- See penisa taboo slang word for penis
- slang.an obnoxious or despicable man
- an instrument or weapon with a sharp point, such as a thorn, goad, bee sting, etc
- the footprint or track of an animal, esp a hare
- obsolete.a small mark caused by pricking a surface; dot; point
- kick against the prickskick against the pricks to hurt oneself by struggling against something in vain
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Other Words From
- pricker noun
- pricking·ly adverb
- un·pricked adjective
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Word History and Origins
Origin of prick1
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Word History and Origins
Origin of prick1
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Idioms and Phrases
- kick against the pricks, to resist incontestable facts or authority; protest uselessly:
In appealing the case again, you will just be kicking against the pricks.
- prick up one's ears, to become very alert; listen attentively:
The reporter pricked up his ears at the prospect of a scoop.
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Example Sentences
For those of you who believe in following the money, prick up your ears.
Prick the bladder with a needle every so often,” she advises sagely, “to keep it from exploding.
The columnist was a royal prick, but he had this soft spot for Damon Runyon, who was dying at the time.
The prick of conscience she has alerts us to the fact that she is different from Francis—or just at a different stage of her life.
A 1992 episode of the sitcom imagined what it would be like if a bubble boy was actually kind of prick.
Then they continue to prick the body, and, as they say, they draw off or suck out the humors until the body is left dry.
She ain't all greyhound; but the best man as ever I knew always said there never was a prick-eared one a bad 'un.
This time I had my ankus with me, so that in case he should run away again I could prick his neck and make him behave.
In Stanley's experience one man died within a minute, from a mere pin prick in the breast.
Then the Loon tried to prick the Tin Woodman's leg, but the tin only blunted the point of the thorn.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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