How to Use needle in a Sentence

needle

1 of 2 noun
  • I need a needle and thread to sew the button on your shirt.
  • The needle on the scale points to 9 grams.
  • The compass needle points north.
  • Our job is to thread the needle.
    — John T. Shaw, Chicago Tribune, 23 Feb. 2026
  • Even this is just the tip of the needle.
    — Daniel Engber, The Atlantic, 26 May 2026
  • Ethan just can thread that needle.
    — Alison Herman, Variety, 5 Nov. 2025
  • The eye of that needle shrinks by the day.
    — Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 5 Mar. 2026
  • But that doesn’t mean this won’t be a tough needle to thread.
    — Jayson Stark, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
  • Where can the Asian needle ants be found?
    — Julia Gomez, USA Today, 9 Apr. 2026
  • Pills appeal to those who may be afraid to take needles.
    — Jeff Marks, CNBC, 5 Jan. 2026
  • Adelman took over the job with that needle to thread.
    — Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 13 May 2026
  • These needle trend lines have been building for a while.
    — Daniel Engber, The Atlantic, 26 May 2026
  • Somehow thread the needle and find the sweet spot?
    — Sean McIndoe, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2026
  • But the needle’s swung too hard the other way.
    — Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 6 Jan. 2026
  • Here are four steps that shift the needle quickly.
    — Lien De Pau, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2025
  • Just how the court will thread that needle remains to be seen.
    — Nina Totenberg, NPR, 9 June 2026
  • Most at-home blood test kits come with a needle and testing card.
    — Alyssa Hui-Anderson, Verywell Health, 25 Sep. 2025
  • Most at-home blood test kits come with a needle and testing card.
    — Alyssa Hui, Verywell Health, 6 May 2023
  • Just don’t leave a needle and thread lying around again.
    — Dr. John De Jong, Boston Herald, 15 Feb. 2026
  • Put your bags away, stay your shaking hand, try a new needle.
    — Hazlitt, 9 Jan. 2026
  • That leaves wood, slash, chipped wood and pine needles waiting.
    — Alan Gionet, CBS News, 9 Apr. 2026
  • Puts his hands on mine and guides the awl, the needle, the paintbrush.
    — Literary Hub, 14 Apr. 2026
  • This amounts to threading the needle, though.
    — Michael Salfino, New York Times, 2 Apr. 2026
  • The long twine of a decade, hold the tattoo needle to skin and sew habibti.
    — Hala Alyan, The New Yorker, 22 Jan. 2024
  • Learn to spin, knit, crochet, weave, needle felt and process wool.
    — Caroline Ritzie, Cincinnati Enquirer, 28 Sep. 2025
  • Its thin, needle-like leaves are dark green and keep their color year-round.
    — Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Apr. 2026
  • Would David Jiricek be a prospect that moves the needle?
    — Michael Russo, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2026
  • How much does this trade move the needle for the Chargers?
    — Zak Keefer, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025
  • None moved the needle like the Thunder have.
    — ABC News, 24 Apr. 2026
  • All of this amounts to threading a very tricky needle for the Padres.
    — Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 July 2023

needle

2 of 2 verb
  • His classmates needled him about his new haircut.
  • Does this give the younger brother a chance to needle his older sibling?
    — Phil Miller, Star Tribune, 18 June 2021
  • The mayor then dodged a question about whether the governor had been needling him.
    — William Neuman and J. David Goodman, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2017
  • But now more and more pet owners are turning to needle power to help cure their cats and dogs.
    — Houston Chronicle, 6 July 2018
  • Once a Rays coach, Baldelli didn't let the chance to needle his old boss pass.
    — Jerry Zgoda, Star Tribune, 1 Mar. 2021
  • And yet, the blog’s headlines seem designed to needle readers.
    — Khe Hy, Quartz, 3 Mar. 2020
  • The woman needling the Cubs, hands at her head, was the daughter of the Braves coach.
    — Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 10 Feb. 2026
  • Fans didn’t wait until the start of matches Thursday to needle him.
    — Doug Ferguson, SFChronicle.com, 10 Dec. 2019
  • One of my mother’s drinking cronies, a needling terror of a woman, stumbled over to us.
    — Douglas Stuart, The New Yorker, 6 Jan. 2020
  • Your needling her to tell you what’s wrong is only going to require more energy from her, not less.
    — Sophia Benoit, GQ, 20 June 2018
  • Chavez then needled him for refusing to fight the bigger Golovkin.
    — Mike Cranston, The Denver Post, 6 May 2017
  • Her caddie sometimes needles her for getting wax on the zippers.
    — Tod Leonard, sandiegouniontribune.com, 20 Mar. 2018
  • He’s been seen needling some black yarn together on top of the slopestyle and halfpipe courses here — without gloves by the way.
    — Laken Litman, USA TODAY, 14 Feb. 2018
  • The president and his allies sent giddy tweets needling his accusers and Democrats.
    — Author: Jonathan Lemire and Zeke Miller, Anchorage Daily News, 6 Feb. 2020
  • Pratt has continued to needle Bass over her response to the wildfires.
    — Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 11 May 2026
  • Putin prefers to needle, to provoke, and test his opponents’ redlines or readiness.
    — Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, 12 Feb. 2024
  • The billionaire can’t believe what an oaf his captor is, finding any excuse to needle him.
    — Kate Knibbs, Wired, 18 Mar. 2022
  • But that has not stopped Fox News from trying to needle the late night establishment.
    — Stephen Battaglio Staff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2021
  • Cedric needled Corden about how the host reads jokes somebody else has written for him, then exited.
    — oregonlive, 27 Feb. 2020
  • Her daughters playfully needle Judy about not using paper plates for a change.
    — David Gambacorta, Philly.com, 31 Oct. 2017
  • Doing it while having 17 rookies make their big league debut tears that needle right off its moorings.
    — John Kuntz, cleveland, 31 Dec. 2022
  • But Pence had been opposed to needle exchanges as anti-drug policy.
    — Maureen Groppe, USA TODAY, 27 Feb. 2020
  • The Velvet Gang needles the outraged Christie ever so.
    — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 19 May 2026
  • Haden eyes the crowd and begins to sing slowly over a high, needling drone from guitarist Jack Wetmore, 27.
    — Simon Vozick-Levinson, Rolling Stone, 26 June 2023
  • Before the foreskin serum is applied, Louise preps skin with peels, a micro-needling wand, and an electrifying mask.
    — Shannon Barbour, The Cut, 14 Mar. 2018
  • The people who speak up, who needle their local congressperson, who know their communities well—those are the people who make change.
    — Mattie Kahn, Harper's BAZAAR, 2 June 2023
  • Kamran continued to needle Zain, joking about the apples.
    — Daniyal Mueenuddin, New Yorker, 23 Nov. 2025
  • Her every move seems calculated to needle her way onto the Roy throne—or at least, cast the deciding ballot.
    — Julie Kosin, Harper's BAZAAR, 12 Aug. 2019
  • Doctors sounded the mysteries of their union by needling each brother at random, or feeding one of them asparagus and smelling the other’s urine.
    — Julian Lucas, The New York Review of Books, 21 Feb. 2019
  • Also by needling Germany, the most powerful member of the bloc, which, Poland says, owes it war reparations.
    — Marek Strzelecki, Bloomberg.com, 20 Dec. 2017

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'needle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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