PAIN IN THE NECK

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does pain in the neck mean? 

• PAIN IN THE NECK (noun)
  The noun PAIN IN THE NECK has 2 senses:

1. a bothersome annoying person

2. something or someone that causes trouble; a source of unhappiness

  Familiarity information: PAIN IN THE NECK used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PAIN IN THE NECK (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A bothersome annoying person

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

nuisance; pain; pain in the neck

Context example:

that kid is a terrible pain

Hypernyms ("pain in the neck" is a kind of...):

disagreeable person; unpleasant person (a person who is not pleasant or agreeable)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Something or someone that causes trouble; a source of unhappiness

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

annoyance; bother; botheration; infliction; pain; pain in the ass; pain in the neck

Context example:

he's not a friend, he's an infliction

Hypernyms ("pain in the neck" is a kind of...):

negative stimulus (a stimulus with undesirable consequences)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pain in the neck"):

nuisance ((law) a broad legal concept including anything that disturbs the reasonable use of your property or endangers life and health or is offensive)

irritant; thorn (something that causes irritation and annoyance)

plague (an annoyance)

 Context examples 

Signs and symptoms result from the compression of nerve roots and include motor and sensory disturbances in the lower and upper extremities, and pain in the neck and arms.

(Ossification of Posterior Longitudinal Ligament, NCI Thesaurus)