needle
Definitions
General English
- noun a long thin sharp object with a hole at one end, used for sewing
- noun a long thin sharp piece of medical equipment, used for putting medicine into your body
- noun a small thin part on a piece of equipment, which points to something such as a number
- noun one of the thin leaves of a pine tree
General Science
- noun a thin hard leaf of a conifer
Cars & Driving
- noun a tapered, needle-shaped pin in a carburettor jet
Computing
- noun a tiny metal pin on a dot matrix printer which prints one of the dots
Construction
- In underpinning, the horizontal beam that temporarily holds up the wall or column while a new foundation is being placed.
- In forming or shoring, a short beam passing through a wall to support shores or forms during construction.
- In repair or alteration work, a beam that temporarily supports the structure above the area being worked on.
Electronics
- A slender and pointed object, or that resembling such an object. For instance, the shape of the magnetizable particles on the surface a magnetic tape or disk is that of a needle. 2. A needle (1) which serves to convey information in a meter, gauge, or similar device or instrument. A specific example is that used in a D'Arsonval galvanometer. Also called needle pointer, indicator needle, or pointer needle.
- A pointed object which extends from a phonographic pickup, and which serves to follow the undulations of the grooves of a phonographic disc and transmit them as vibrations to said pickup. Such an object is usually made of a metal needle with a diamond or sapphire tip. Also called stylus (3).
- A needle in a magnetic compass. Also called magnetic needle.
Food
- A thin steel rod, sharpened at one end and pierced with a flattened hole at the other, used for trussing or larding a bird or piece of meat
Media Studies
- noun the tone arm on the pickup of a record player
Medical
- noun a thin metal instrument with a sharp point at one end and a hole at the other for attaching a thread, used for sewing up surgical incisions
- noun the hollow pointed end of a hypodermic syringe, or the syringe itself
Real Estate
- noun a tall stone pillar
Origin & History of “needle”
Etymologically, a needle is a ‘sewing’ implement. The word comes from a prehistoric Germanic *nēthlō (source also of German nadel, Dutch naald, Swedish nål, and Danish naal), which was derived from an Indo-European base *nē- ‘sew’ (represented also in English nerve and neural).
