needle
[verb]
Synonyms: irritate, annoy, get on one's nerves (informal), goad, harass, nag, pester, provoke, rile, taunt

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. nee‧dle¹ /ˈniːdl/ noun [countable]
[Language: Old English; Origin: nædl]

1. SEWING
a) a small thin piece of steel, with a point at one end and a hole in the other, used for sewing ⇒ pin:
a needle and thread
a tapestry needle
b) a knitting needle

2. DRUGS a very thin, pointed steel tube at the end of a syringe, which is pushed into your skin to put a drug or medicine into your body or to take out blood:
She carried hypodermic needles and syringes in her bag.
Drug users are at risk when they share needles.

3. POINTER a long thin piece of metal on a scientific instrument that moves backwards and forwards and points to numbers or directions:
a compass needle

4. MEDICAL TREATMENT a long, very thin piece of metal used in acupuncture (=a kind of medical treatment originally used in China)

5. LEAF a small needle-shaped leaf, especially from a pine tree:
pine needles

6. RECORDS the very small, pointed part in a record player that touches the record in order to play it

7. like looking for a needle in a haystack informal used to say that something is almost impossible to find:
Finding out which file you want can be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
⇒ pins and needles

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. needle² verb [transitive] informal
to deliberately annoy someone by making unkind remarks or jokes about them Synonym : rib, tease:
I just said that to Charlie to needle him.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

needle
noun
I. for sewing
ADJ. long | blunt | sharp | fine | darning, embroidery, sewing, tapestry
VERB + NEEDLE use | thread
PHRASES the eye of a needle, needle and thread She sewed it on with needle and thread.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

needle
II. for knitting
ADJ. empty | knitting
NEEDLE + VERB hold sth a needle holding two stitches

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

needle
III. for drugs
ADJ. hypodermic, syringe | long | sharp | fine | clean, sterile | contaminated, infected | used
VERB + NEEDLE insert, jab (sb with), plunge, put, stick He saw her stick a needle into her arm.
use | share the dangers of sharing needles
NEEDLE + VERB go in The needle went in easily.
NEEDLE + NOUN tip | exchange He believes that needle exchange schemes (= where drug users can change used needles for clean ones) encourage drug addiction.
PHRASES the prick of a needle

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

needle
IV. on a compass/instrument
ADJ. magnetized | compass
NEEDLE + VERB move The needle moved away from the wind.
point | settle Wait until the needle settles and is pointing in one direction.
PHRASES the needle of a compass

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

needle
V. on a pine tree
ADJ. conifer, pine
VERB + NEEDLE drop, lose

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

needle

thread a needle
Eleanor threaded the needle.
use a needle
I don't think he even knows how to use a needle!
a needle and thread
I got a needle and thread and sewed the button back on.
the eye of a needle (=the hole at the top of the needle that the thread goes through)
This gadget helps you put the thread through the eye of the needle.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

needle
ˈni:dl
See: on pins and needles

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲