a small, slender, often pointed piece of wood, metal, etc., used to fasten, support, or attach things.
2.
a short, slender piece of wire with a point at one end and a head at the other, for fastening things together.
3.
any of various forms of fasteners or ornaments consisting essentially or partly of a pointed or penetrating wire or shaft (often used in combination): a jeweled pin.
4.
a badge having a pointed bar or pin attached, by which it is fastened to the clothing: a fraternity pin.
5.
Machinery.
a.
a short metal rod, as a linchpin, driven through holes in adjacent parts, as a hub and an axle, to keep the parts together.
b.
a short cylindrical rod or tube, as a wrist pin or crankpin, joining two parts so as to permit them to move in one plane relative to each other.
c.
a short axle, as one on which a pulley rotates in a block.
6.
the part of a cylindrical key stem entering a lock.
a very small amount; a trifle: Such insincere advice isn't worth a pin.
20.
Chess. the immobilization of an enemy piece by attacking with one's queen, rook, or bishop.
21.
Electronics. a pin-shaped connection, as the terminals on the base of an electron tube or the connections on an integrated circuit.
–verb (used with object)
22.
to fasten or attach with or as with a pin or pins: to pin two pieces of cloth together.
23.
to hold fast in a spot or position (sometimes fol. by down): The debris pinned him down.
24.
to transfix or mount with a pin or the like: to pin a flower as a botanical specimen.
25.
Chess. to immobilize (an enemy piece) by placing one's queen, rook, or bishop in a position to check the exposed king or capture a valuable piece if the pinned piece were moved.
26.
Wrestling. to secure a fall over one's opponent.
—Verb phrases
27.
pin down,
a.
to bind or hold to a course of action, a promise, etc.
b.
to force (someone) to deal with a situation or to come to a decision: We tried to pin him down for a definite answer, but he was too evasive for us.
28.
pin in, to fill (gaps in a rubble wall, etc.) with spalls.
29.
pin up, to make (a piece of masonry) level or plumb with wedges.
—Idioms
30.
get pinned,
a.
(of a young woman) to receive a male student's fraternity pin as a symbol of his affection and fidelity, usually symbolizing that the couple is going steady or plans to become engaged.
b.
(of a young couple) to become formally pledged to one another, though not yet engaged, by the bestowing of such a pin or the exchange of pins.
31.
pin something on someone, Informal. to ascribe the blame or guilt for something to a person; show someone to be culpable: They pinned the crime on him.
32.
pull the pin, Informal. to end a relationship, project, program, or the like, because of lack of continuing interest, success, funds, etc.
Origin: bef. 1100; (n.) ME pinne, OE pinn peg; c. D pin, G Pinne, ON pinni; perh. < L pinna feather, quill (see pinna); (v.) ME pinnen, deriv. of the n.
a number assigned to an individual, used to establish identity in order to gain access to a computer system via an automatic teller machine, a point-of-sale terminal, or other device.
a pin of wood or other material driven or fitted into something, as to fasten parts together, to hang things on, to make fast a rope or string on, to stop a hole, or to mark some point.
2.
Informal. a leg, either real or wooden: still on his pegs at 99.
3.
a notch or degree: to come down a peg.
4.
an occasion, basis, or reason: a peg to hang a grievance on.
5.
Also called pin.Music. a pin of wood or metal in the neck of a stringed instrument that may be turned in its socket to adjust a string's tension.
6.
Informal. a throw, esp. in baseball: The peg to the plate was late.
to keep (the commodity price, exchange rate, etc.) at a set level, as by manipulation or law.
16.
Informal. to throw (a ball).
17.
Journalism. to base (an article, feature story, etc.) upon; justify by (usually fol. by on): The feature on the chief of police was pegged on the riots.
18.
Informal. to identify: to peg someone as a good prospect.
–verb (used without object)
19.
to work or continue persistently or energetically: to peg away at a homework assignment.
20.
Informal. to throw a ball.
21.
Croquet. to strike a peg, as in completing a game.
–adjective
22.
Also, pegged.tapered toward the bottom of the leg: peg trousers.
—Idiom
23.
take down a peg, to reduce the pride or arrogance of; humble: I guess that'll take him down a peg!
Origin: 1400–50; late ME pegge (n.), peggen (v.) < MD
fall (fôl) v.
fell (fěl), fall·en (fô'lən), fall·ing, falls
v.
intr.
To drop or come down freely under the influence of gravity.
To drop oneself to a lower or less erect position: I fell back in my chair. The pilgrims fell to their knees.
To lose an upright or erect position suddenly.
To drop wounded or dead, especially in battle.
To experience defeat or ruin: After 300 years the dynasty fell.
To lose office: The disgraced prime minister fell from power.
To lessen in amount or degree: The air pressure is falling.
To decline in financial value: Last year, stocks fell sharply.
To give in to temptation; sin.
Theology To lose primordial innocence and happiness. Used of humanity as a result of the Fall.
To lose one's chastity.
To be given by assignment or distribution: The greatest task fell to me.
To be given by right or inheritance.
To go or come as if by falling: All grief fell from our hearts. Night fell quickly.
To come to rest; settle: The light fell on my book.
To hang down: The child's hair fell in ringlets.
To be cast down: Her eyes fell.
To assume an expression of consternation or disappointment: His face fell when he heard the report.
To undergo conquest or capture, especially as the result of an armed attack: The city fell after a long siege.
To experience defeat or ruin: After 300 years the dynasty fell.
To lose office: The disgraced prime minister fell from power.
To lessen in amount or degree: The air pressure is falling.
To decline in financial value: Last year, stocks fell sharply.
To give in to temptation; sin.
Theology To lose primordial innocence and happiness. Used of humanity as a result of the Fall.
To lose one's chastity.
To be given by assignment or distribution: The greatest task fell to me.
To be given by right or inheritance.
To slope downward: The rolling hills fall gently toward the coast.
To lessen in amount or degree: The air pressure is falling.
To decline in financial value: Last year, stocks fell sharply.
To give in to temptation; sin.
Theology To lose primordial innocence and happiness. Used of humanity as a result of the Fall.
To lose one's chastity.
To be given by assignment or distribution: The greatest task fell to me.
To be given by right or inheritance.
To diminish in pitch or volume: My friend's voice fell to a whisper.
To give in to temptation; sin.
Theology To lose primordial innocence and happiness. Used of humanity as a result of the Fall.
To lose one's chastity.
To be given by assignment or distribution: The greatest task fell to me.
To be given by right or inheritance.
To pass into a particular state, condition, or situation: fell silent; fall in love.
To occur at a specified time: New Year's Day falls on a Tuesday this year.
To occur at a specified place: The stress falls on the last syllable.
To come, as by chance: fell among a band of thieves; a thought that fell into his mind.
To be given by assignment or distribution: The greatest task fell to me.
To be given by right or inheritance.
To be included within the range or scope of something: The specimens fall into three categories.
To come into contact; strike: My gaze fell on a small book in the corner.
To come out; issue: Insincere compliments fell from their lips.
To apply oneself: fell to work immediately.
To be born. Used chiefly of lambs.
v.
tr. To cut down (a tree); fell. n.
The act or an instance of falling.
A sudden drop from a relatively erect to a less erect position.
Something that has fallen: a fall of hail.
An amount that has fallen: a fall of two inches of rain.
The distance that something falls: The victim suffered a fall of three stories to the ground.
A veil hung from a woman's hat and down her back.
An ornamental cascade of lace or trimming attached to a dress, usually at the collar.
A woman's hairpiece with long, free-hanging hair.
An overthrow; a collapse: the fall of a government.
Armed capture of a place under siege: the fall of Troy.
A moral lapse.
A loss of chastity.
The act of holding a wrestling opponent on his or her back so that the shoulders remain in contact with the mat for a designated period, usually one or two seconds, thereby winning the match. Also called pin.
Any of various wrestling maneuvers resulting in such an act.
A break or rise in the level of a deck.
falls The apparatus used to hoist and transfer cargo or lifeboats.
The birth of an animal, especially a lamb.
All the animals born at one birth; a litter.
Autumn.
falls(used with a sing. or pl. verb) A waterfall.
A downward movement or slope.
Any of several pendent articles of dress, especially:
A veil hung from a woman's hat and down her back.
An ornamental cascade of lace or trimming attached to a dress, usually at the collar.
A woman's hairpiece with long, free-hanging hair.
An overthrow; a collapse: the fall of a government.
Armed capture of a place under siege: the fall of Troy.
A moral lapse.
A loss of chastity.
The act of holding a wrestling opponent on his or her back so that the shoulders remain in contact with the mat for a designated period, usually one or two seconds, thereby winning the match. Also called pin.
Any of various wrestling maneuvers resulting in such an act.
A break or rise in the level of a deck.
falls The apparatus used to hoist and transfer cargo or lifeboats.
The birth of an animal, especially a lamb.
All the animals born at one birth; a litter.
An overthrow; a collapse: the fall of a government.
Armed capture of a place under siege: the fall of Troy.
A moral lapse.
A loss of chastity.
The act of holding a wrestling opponent on his or her back so that the shoulders remain in contact with the mat for a designated period, usually one or two seconds, thereby winning the match. Also called pin.
Any of various wrestling maneuvers resulting in such an act.
A break or rise in the level of a deck.
falls The apparatus used to hoist and transfer cargo or lifeboats.
The birth of an animal, especially a lamb.
All the animals born at one birth; a litter.
A reduction in value, amount, or degree.
A marked, often sudden, decline in status, rank, or importance: "turned them in, set them up for prosecution; positioned them, as it were, for the fall"(Joan Didion).
A moral lapse.
A loss of chastity.
The act of holding a wrestling opponent on his or her back so that the shoulders remain in contact with the mat for a designated period, usually one or two seconds, thereby winning the match. Also called pin.
Any of various wrestling maneuvers resulting in such an act.
A break or rise in the level of a deck.
falls The apparatus used to hoist and transfer cargo or lifeboats.
The birth of an animal, especially a lamb.
All the animals born at one birth; a litter.
often FallTheology The loss of humanity's original innocence and happiness resulting from Adam and Eve's eating of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden.
Sports
The act of holding a wrestling opponent on his or her back so that the shoulders remain in contact with the mat for a designated period, usually one or two seconds, thereby winning the match. Also called pin.
Any of various wrestling maneuvers resulting in such an act.
A break or rise in the level of a deck.
falls The apparatus used to hoist and transfer cargo or lifeboats.
The birth of an animal, especially a lamb.
All the animals born at one birth; a litter.
Nautical
A break or rise in the level of a deck.
falls The apparatus used to hoist and transfer cargo or lifeboats.
The birth of an animal, especially a lamb.
All the animals born at one birth; a litter.
The end of a cable, rope, or chain that is pulled by the power source in hoisting.
The birth of an animal, especially a lamb.
All the animals born at one birth; a litter.
A family of woodcock in flight. See Synonyms at flock1.
Botany The outer series of perianth in the irises and related plants.
adj.
Of, having to do with, occurring in, or appropriate to the season of fall: fall fashion; fall harvests.
Grown during the season of fall: fall crops.
To break down; collapse: The rickety chair fell apart.
To suffer a nervous breakdown: He fell apart after years as a POW.
To withdraw one's friendship and support.
To become gradually diminished in size.
To drift off an established course.
To lose weight.
To give ground; retreat.
To recede: The waves fell back.
To fail to keep up a pace; lag behind.
To be financially in arrears.
To feel love for; be in love with.
To be deceived or swindled by: fell for the con artist's scheme and lost $200,000.
To take one's place in a military formation.
To sink inward; cave in: The roof of the old barn fell in.
To become less; decrease: Stock prices have fallen off. The number of staff meetings fell off after a few months.
To lose weight: Toward the end of the dry season, the cattle fall off rapidly.
Nautical To change course to leeward.
To attack suddenly and viciously: Snipers and irregulars fell on the hapless patrol.
To meet with; encounter: a stockbroker who fell on hard times.
To leave a barracks, for example, in order to take one's place in a military formation.
To leave a military formation.
To quarrel: The siblings fell out over their inheritance.
To happen; occur.
To be readily explainable; follow logically or naturally: These facts fall out nicely from the new theory.
Phrasal Verb(s): fall apart
To break down; collapse: The rickety chair fell apart.
To suffer a nervous breakdown: He fell apart after years as a POW.
fall away
To withdraw one's friendship and support.
To become gradually diminished in size.
To drift off an established course.
To lose weight.
fall back
To give ground; retreat.
To recede: The waves fell back.
fall behind
To fail to keep up a pace; lag behind.
To be financially in arrears.
fall downTo fail to meet expectations; lag in performance: fell down on the job. fall for
To feel love for; be in love with.
To be deceived or swindled by: fell for the con artist's scheme and lost $200,000.
fall in
To take one's place in a military formation.
To sink inward; cave in: The roof of the old barn fell in.
fall off
To become less; decrease: Stock prices have fallen off. The number of staff meetings fell off after a few months.
To lose weight: Toward the end of the dry season, the cattle fall off rapidly.
Nautical To change course to leeward.
fall on/upon
To attack suddenly and viciously: Snipers and irregulars fell on the hapless patrol.
To meet with; encounter: a stockbroker who fell on hard times.
fall out
To leave a barracks, for example, in order to take one's place in a military formation.
To leave a military formation.
To quarrel: The siblings fell out over their inheritance.
To happen; occur.
To be readily explainable; follow logically or naturally: These facts fall out nicely from the new theory.
fall throughTo fail; miscarry: Our plans fell through at the last minute. fall toTo begin an activity energetically: "The press fell to with a will"(Russell Baker).
Idiom(s):
fall back on/upon
To rely on: fall back on old friends in time of need.
To resort to: I had to fall back on my savings when I was unemployed.
Idiom(s):
fall between (the) two stoolsTo fail because of an inability to reconcile or choose between two courses of action.
Idiom(s):
fall flat
To fail miserably when attempting to achieve a result.
To have no effect: The jokes fell flat.
Idiom(s):
fall foul/afoul
Nautical To collide. Used of vessels.
To clash: fell foul of the law.
Idiom(s):
fall from graceTo experience a major reduction in status or prestige.
Idiom(s):
fall into lineTo adhere to established rules or predetermined courses of action.
Idiom(s):
fall in with
To agree with or be in harmony with: Their views fall in with ours.
To associate or begin to associate with: fell in with the wrong crowd.
Idiom(s):
fall on deaf earsTo go unheeded; be ignored completely: "Moscow's own familiar charges . . . will also fall on deaf ears"(Foreign Affairs).
Idiom(s):
fall over backward/backwardsTo overexert oneself to do or accomplish something: We fell over backward to complete the project on time.
Idiom(s):
fall over (oneself)To display inordinate, typically effusive, enthusiasm: fell over themselves to impress the general's wife.
Idiom(s):
fall prey toTo be put into such a vulnerable position as to be at risk of harm, destruction, or invasion: a person who fell prey to swindlers; did not want the country to fall prey to terrorists.
Idiom(s):
fall short
To fail to attain a specified amount, level, or degree: an athlete whose skill fell far short of expectations.
To prove inadequate: Food supplies fell short.
Idiom(s):
fall through the cracksTo pass unnoticed, neglected, or unchecked: "In the past, many learning disabled children fell through the cracks"(Judith Harkness Richardson).
[Middle English fallen, from Old English feallan.]
pin (pĭn) n.
A short, straight, stiff piece of wire with a blunt head and a sharp point, used especially for fastening.
Something, such as a safety pin, that resembles such a piece of wire in shape or use.
A whit; a jot: didn't care a pin about the matter.
A thin rod for securing the ends of fractured bones.
A peg for fixing the crown to the root of a tooth.
A cotter pin.
The part of a key stem entering a lock.
Music One of the pegs securing the strings and regulating their tension on a stringed instrument.
Nautical A belaying pin.
Nautical A thole pin.
One of the wooden clubs at which the ball is aimed in bowling.
Any of the pegs on the platen of a printer, which engage holes at the edges of paper.
Any of the styluses that form a dot matrix on a printer.
Any of the small metal prongs at the end of a connector that fit into the holes in a port.
A slender, usually cylindrical piece of wood or metal for holding or fastening parts together, or serving as a support for suspending one thing from another, as:
A thin rod for securing the ends of fractured bones.
A peg for fixing the crown to the root of a tooth.
A cotter pin.
The part of a key stem entering a lock.
Music One of the pegs securing the strings and regulating their tension on a stringed instrument.
Nautical A belaying pin.
Nautical A thole pin.
One of the wooden clubs at which the ball is aimed in bowling.
tv. to gossip about someone. : Kim is always pegging Jill. What's her problem?
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition. Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
pin
n. someone's leg. (Usually plural.) : Stand up on your pins and speak your mind.
n. an important criminal leader. (From kingpin.) : The mob's getting careless. The cops think they caught the pin this time.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition. Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
pin (so's)
tv. to scold someone severely. : The teacher pinned the kids' ears back for chewing gum.
tv. to beat someone, especially about the head. : You do something like that again, and I'll pin your ears back.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition. Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History
peg (n.)
1440, from M.Du. pegge "peg," a common Low Ger. word of uncertain origin (cf. Low Ger. pigge "peg," M.Du. pegel "little knob used as a mark"). The verb meaning "fasten with or as if on a peg" is first recorded 1598, from the noun. Slang sense of "identify, classify" first recorded 1920. To be a square peg in a round hole "be inappropriate for one's situation" is attested from 1836; to take someone down a peg is from 1589, but the original lit. sense is uncertain (most of the likely candidates are not attested until centuries later).
pin (n.)
late O.E. pinn "peg, bolt," from P.Gmc. *penn- "jutting point or peak" (cf. O.N. pinni "peg, tack," M.Du. pin "pin, peg," O.H.G. pfinn, Ger. Pinne "pin, tack") which may be via L. pinna "wing, feather," also used for "pointed peak," from PIE *bend- "something protruding." The modern slender wire pin is first attested by this name c.1380. Transferred sense of "leg" is recorded from 1530. The verb is recorded from c.1300; sense of "to hold someone or something down so he or it cannot escape" is attested from 1740. Pin-up (adj.) is from 1941 (first in ref. to Dorothy Lamour); the noun is recorded from 1943. Pinwheel is from 1696, "a wheel in the striking train of a clock in which pins are fixed to lift the hammer;" fireworks sense is from 1869. Pinhead "person of small intelligence" is first attested 1896. Pin-stripe is attested from 1896. Pin-money "annual sum allotted to a woman for personal expenses on dress, etc." is attested from 1621.
PIN
acronym for personal identification number, 1981, from the first ref. used with redundant number.
To fix the price of a new security issue during the issuance period through buying and selling it in the open market in order to ensure that the price in the secondary market will not fall below the offering price. Also called holding the market, price stabilization, stabilize. See also stabilization period.
To fix the rate at which foreign currencies exchange with one another.
Main Entry: 1pin Pronunciation: 'pin Function: noun 1: a metal rod driven into or through a fractured bone to immobilize it 2: a metal rod driven into the root of a reconstructed tooth to provide support for a crown or into the jaw to provide support for an artificial tooth
Main Entry: 2pin Function: transitive verb Inflected Forms: pinned; pin·ning : to fasten, join, or secure with a pin
Main Entry: PIN Function: abbreviation prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia
[pin] 
noun, verb, pinned, pin⋅ning.