PIN (pinned, pinning)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: pinned    , pinning   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does PIN mean? 

• PIN (noun)
  The noun PIN has 11 senses:

1. a piece of jewelry that is pinned onto the wearer's garment

2. when a wrestler's shoulders are forced to the mat

3. small markers inserted into a surface to mark scores or define locations etc.

4. a number you choose and use to gain access to various accounts

5. informal terms for the leg

6. axis consisting of a short shaft that supports something that turns

7. cylindrical tumblers consisting of two parts that are held in place by springs; when they are aligned with a key the bolt can be thrown

8. flagpole used to mark the position of the hole on a golf green

9. a small slender (often pointed) piece of wood or metal used to support or fasten or attach things

10. a holder attached to the gunwale of a boat that holds the oar in place and acts as a fulcrum for rowing

11. a club-shaped wooden object used in bowling; set up in triangular groups of ten as the target

  Familiarity information: PIN used as a noun is familiar.

• PIN (verb)
  The verb PIN has 4 senses:

1. to hold fast or prevent from moving

2. attach or fasten with pins

3. pierce with a pin

4. (chess) immobilize a piece

  Familiarity information: PIN used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PIN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A piece of jewelry that is pinned onto the wearer's garment

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("pin" is a kind of...):

jewellery; jewelry (an adornment (as a bracelet or ring or necklace) made of precious metals and set with gems (or imitation gems))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pin"):

stickpin (a decorative pin that is worn in a necktie)

scarfpin; tie tack; tiepin (a pin used to hold the tie in place)

scatter pin (small pin usually worn in groups of two or more)

breastpin; broach; brooch (a decorative pin worn by women)

Sense 2

Meaning:

When a wrestler's shoulders are forced to the mat

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

fall; pin

Hypernyms ("pin" is a kind of...):

triumph; victory (a successful ending of a struggle or contest)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pin"):

takedown ((amateur wrestling) being brought to the mat from a standing position)

Holonyms ("pin" is a part of...):

wrestling match (a match between wrestlers)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Small markers inserted into a surface to mark scores or define locations etc.

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

peg; pin

Hypernyms ("pin" is a kind of...):

mark; marker; marking (a distinguishing symbol)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A number you choose and use to gain access to various accounts

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

personal identification number; PIN; PIN number

Hypernyms ("PIN" is a kind of...):

number (a numeral or string of numerals that is used for identification and may be attached to accounts, memberships, etc.)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Informal terms for the leg

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

peg; pin; stick

Context example:

fever left him weak on his sticks

Hypernyms ("pin" is a kind of...):

leg (a human limb; commonly used to refer to a whole limb but technically only the part of the limb between the knee and ankle)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Axis consisting of a short shaft that supports something that turns

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

pin; pivot

Hypernyms ("pin" is a kind of...):

axis; axis of rotation (the center around which something rotates)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pin"):

fulcrum (the pivot about which a lever turns)

pintle (a pin or bolt forming the pivot of a hinge)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Cylindrical tumblers consisting of two parts that are held in place by springs; when they are aligned with a key the bolt can be thrown

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

pin; pin tumbler

Hypernyms ("pin" is a kind of...):

tumbler (a movable obstruction in a lock that must be adjusted to a given position (as by a key) before the bolt can be thrown)

Holonyms ("pin" is a part of...):

cylinder lock (a lock in which a cylinder rotates to move a bolt; tumblers are pins; inserting the key lifts and aligns the pins to free the cylinder to rotate)

Sense 8

Meaning:

Flagpole used to mark the position of the hole on a golf green

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

flag; pin

Hypernyms ("pin" is a kind of...):

golf equipment (sports equipment used in playing golf)

Sense 9

Meaning:

A small slender (often pointed) piece of wood or metal used to support or fasten or attach things

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("pin" is a kind of...):

fastener; fastening; fixing; holdfast (restraint that attaches to something or holds something in place)

Meronyms (parts of "pin"):

pinhead (the head of a pin)

point (sharp end)

head (a projection out from one end)

shank; stem (cylinder forming a long narrow part of something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pin"):

skewer (a long pin for holding meat in position while it is being roasted)

gudgeon pin; wrist pin (pin joining a piston to a connecting rod)

straight pin (pin consisting of a short straight stiff piece of wire with a pointed end; used to fasten pieces of cloth or paper together)

safety pin (a pin in the form of a clasp; has a guard so the point of the pin will not stick the user)

rivet (heavy pin having a head at one end and the other end being hammered flat after being passed through holes in the pieces that are fastened together)

linchpin; lynchpin (pin inserted through an axletree to hold a wheel on)

hatpin (a long sturdy pin used by women to secure a hat to their hair)

hairpin (a double pronged pin used to hold women's hair in place)

bitt pin (a pin through the bitthead to keep the mooring lines from slipping off)

barrette (a pin for holding women's hair in place)

nog; peg (a wooden pin pushed or driven into a surface)

Derivation:

pin (attach or fasten with pins)

pin (pierce with a pin)

Sense 10

Meaning:

A holder attached to the gunwale of a boat that holds the oar in place and acts as a fulcrum for rowing

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

oarlock; peg; pin; rowlock; thole; tholepin

Hypernyms ("pin" is a kind of...):

holder (a holding device)

Holonyms ("pin" is a part of...):

dinghy; dory; rowboat (a small boat of shallow draft with cross thwarts for seats and rowlocks for oars with which it is propelled)

Sense 11

Meaning:

A club-shaped wooden object used in bowling; set up in triangular groups of ten as the target

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

bowling pin; pin

Hypernyms ("pin" is a kind of...):

bowling equipment (equipment used in bowling)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pin"):

duckpin (a bowling pin that is short and squat by comparison with a tenpin)

headpin; kingpin (the front bowling pin in the triangular arrangement of ten pins)

ninepin; skittle; skittle pin (a bowling pin of the type used in playing ninepins or (in England) skittles)

tenpin (one of the bottle-shaped pins used in bowling)

candlepin (a bowling pin that is thin by comparison with a tenpin)

• PIN (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they pin    ... he / she / it pins   
Past simple: pinned   
Past participle: pinned   
-ing form: pinning   

Sense 1

Meaning:

To hold fast or prevent from moving

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

immobilise; immobilize; pin; trap

Context example:

The child was pinned under the fallen tree

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Sentence example:

The fighter managed to pin his opponent

Sense 2

Meaning:

Attach or fasten with pins

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

pin the needle to the shirt

Hypernyms (to "pin" is one way to...):

fasten; fix; secure (cause to be firmly attached)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "pin"):

pin on (ascribe blame or guilt for something to (someone))

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something PP

Antonym:

unpin (remove the pins from; unfasten the pins of)

Derivation:

pin (a small slender (often pointed) piece of wood or metal used to support or fasten or attach things)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Pierce with a pin

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

pin down the butterfly

Hypernyms (to "pin" is one way to...):

empale; impale; spike; transfix (pierce with a sharp stake or point)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "pin"):

skewer; spit (drive a skewer through)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Derivation:

pin (a small slender (often pointed) piece of wood or metal used to support or fasten or attach things)

Sense 4

Meaning:

(chess) immobilize a piece

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Hypernyms (to "pin" is one way to...):

aggress; attack (take the initiative and go on the offensive)

Domain category:

chess; chess game (a board game for two players who move their 16 pieces according to specific rules; the object is to checkmate the opponent's king)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

 Context examples 

“There! I’ve lost one of my precious hair-pins!”

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Before he had known the gods, she had been to him the centre-pin of the universe.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

This balance is, however, depending on the stability provided by the Ross Island pinning point, which the new study identifies as a point of future vulnerability.

(Rapid melting of the world’s largest ice shelf linked to solar heat in the ocean, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The data sets for Mars don’t have as much resolution, so it’s more difficult to pin down the density of the crust from current gravity maps.

(New Gravity Map Suggests Mars Has a Porous Crust, NASA)

The heavier Spaniard threw himself upon his enemy, and pinning him down beneath him raised his sword to slay him, while a shout of triumph rose from the ranks of his countrymen.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

If anyone treads on my toes or sticks a pin into me, it doesn't matter, for I can't feel it.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

Sensible girls for whom I do care whole papers of pins won't let me send them 'flowers and things', so what can I do?

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

“This is the final stage of a decades-long chase to pin down the origin of the elements,” says Watson.

(First identification of a heavy element born from neutron star collision, ESO)

What he pinned his faith to was his later work.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

At first he made no reply, but at length said testily:—Bother them all! I don't care a pin about them.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)