as in puncture
a mark or small hole made by a pointed instrument
the nurse kindly put a decorated bandage over the pinprick from the injection
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pinprick
Alex Hutchinson, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2025
Karl Leitz Japan’s Firefly Squid Is Embraced by Chefs Stateside
Editors’ Picks
Image
Each spring, hotaru ika, or firefly squid, ascend to the surface of western Japan’s Toyama Bay to spawn, setting the water aglow with pinpricks of electric blue light.
—New York Times, 19 Feb. 2025
Helen Branswell, STAT, 25 Apr. 2018
Distorting drops of water pinpricked my face in the basin’s mirror.
—Dan Chiasson, The New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2017
See All Example Sentences for pinprick
Noun
Another method that has gained popularity among tech-forward self-optimizers is to use a pinprick of blood to test your lactate levels intermittently throughout a workout.
—Alex Hutchinson, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2025
Karl Leitz Japan’s Firefly Squid Is Embraced by Chefs Stateside
Editors’ Picks
Image
Each spring, hotaru ika, or firefly squid, ascend to the surface of western Japan’s Toyama Bay to spawn, setting the water aglow with pinpricks of electric blue light.
—New York Times, 19 Feb. 2025
Verb
Device testing was conducted at a refugee camp in Kakuma, Kenya, where pinprick blood samples were examined for antibodies to measles and rubella.
—Helen Branswell, STAT, 25 Apr. 2018
Distorting drops of water pinpricked my face in the basin’s mirror.
—Dan Chiasson, The New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2017
See All Example Sentences for pinprick
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pinprick
Noun
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In the Balsall Heath neighborhood, wind whistles through the puncture marks in one rotting heap where the rats and mice have burrowed in.—
Anna Cooban,
CNN Money,
5 Apr. 2025
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The girl suffered puncture wounds and scratches, but didn’t receive any stitches.—
Anna Lazarus Caplan,
People.com,
2 Apr. 2025
Verb
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At Griffith's house on the day of his death, Kelly remembers chuckling that the police officers milling around kept getting pricked by his cactuses, knowing that Griffith would have appreciated that, given his formerly adversarial relationship with law enforcement.—
Newsweek Staff,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Apr. 2025
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Ears pricked up when Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta delivered an unexpected compliment to the Chelsea side his team had just comfortably kept a clean sheet against.—
Jordan Campbell,
The Athletic,
17 Mar. 2025
Verb
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She was thrust into J.J. Yeley’s car as she was bumped off the starting grid because of ownership points.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
23 Apr. 2025
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But after one particularly long period in the 13th century with no pope, the church imposed new rules that thrust the election — literally — behind closed doors.—
Joe Hernandez,
NPR,
23 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Antetokounmpo poked the ball away from Nembhard briefly and a scramble ensued, but the Pacers came up with the ball.—
Eric Nehm,
New York Times,
20 Apr. 2025
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The senator poked holes in the story that was being spread by Bukele's and Trump's allies and said the entire meeting was suspect from the beginning.—
Ivan Pereira,
ABC News,
19 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Inside the courtroom, supporters of For Women Scotland cheered, punched the air, hugged and cried.—
Lauren Frayer,
NPR,
16 Apr. 2025
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My job involved taking a frying pan cover off a conveyor belt, using a press to punch a hole, attaching a fly wheel and returning the finished product to the conveyor belt.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Listen to this article A man accused of stabbing his mother-in-law to death and knifing his estranged wife in their Bronx apartment while their two young sons watched in horror has been arrested, police said Monday.—
Leonard Greene,
New York Daily News,
7 Apr. 2025
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Solis, using her quickness and tight handle, knifed her way through the Bulldogs’ defense and broke into paint repeatedly.—
Devin Bradshaw,
The Mercury News,
5 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pinprick.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pinprick. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
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