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to needle

to needle

8 7.7
To annoy someone by teasing them repeatedly
  • verb
  • /ˈniːdəl/
translation icon : provocar
  • I know you were trying to needle me just now, but you can't do it.
  • needled a friend
  • keep needling
  • stop needling

Well, you guys said tough to needle and they came through.

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Examples

  • And you don't have to keep needling me about what's coming to you.

  • Every time I see him in the hallway, he needles me about being a starving musician.

  • I said that to needle Grandmother.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • Honey, why do you have to keep needling me all the time?

  • I never told her this, but sometimes the guys at work, they'd needle me.

  • The same way you're not supposed to needle somebody about their religion.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Mr. McCain and Mr. Graham have been needling the president about Ms. Rice for weeks in television interviews.

    Blog text (29)
  • With a chuckle, Brian needled his friend: "Are you just going to leave the pizza carton on the grass?"

    Fiction book (1998)
  • CRISPIAN: The whole time you've been here, you've been needling me, and I'm not putting up with it anymore.

  • Whenever he makes a mistake, his friends like to needle him about it.

Synonyms

to pick
vsto needle
165 4.8

To start a fight or argument by annoying someone

is aimed at repeated teasing or criticism rather than starting fights
to provoke
vsto needle
144 3.6

Annoy someone again and again to make them react

is deliberate repeated teasing or criticism specifically to annoy someone
to taunt
vsto needle
  • Offensive
93 5.8

To mock someone again and again to make them angry or upset

is similar but covers general repeated teasing or criticism to annoy
to goad
vsto needle
14 6.9

To urge someone to act by annoying or teasing them

focuses more on causing annoyance itself rather than prompting action
to jab at
vsto needle
  • Informal
9 6.4

To make a short teasing or critical comment about someone

is about ongoing repeated annoyance rather than brief sharp remarks
to nag
vsto needle
  • Informal
8 2.6

To keep criticizing or telling someone to do things in an annoying way

is aimed more at provoking a reaction than only persistent complaining
to bust my chops
vsto needle
  • Informal
7 9.3

To tease or criticize someone in a friendly way

is about deliberate annoyance that may be less lighthearted or playful
to twit
vsto needle
  • Offensive
4 9.8

To tease someone again and again with small mean remarks

is broader, covering teasing as well as repeated critical remarks
to peck
vsto needle
3 8.0

To annoy someone with small, repeated complaints

is stronger, focusing on deliberate provocation and repeated teasing
to tantalize
vsto needle
1 8.2

To tease someone with repeated mean or mocking remarks

is broader, not only cutting remarks but any repeated annoyance
to yank someone's chain
vsto needle
  • Informal
1 8.7

Tease someone to make them react

aims at repeated annoyance or criticism rather than playful tricking
to bust someone's chops
vsto needle
  • Informal
1 9.0

To tease or nag someone, often in a playful way

is similar but can be more intentionally irritating rather than joking
to break someone's chops
vsto needle
  • Archaic
8.7

To tease or nag someone in a way that annoys them

is more generally about deliberate annoyance and may be less playful

Antonyms

172 1.0

To make someone feel less upset or in pain

163 3.4

To make someone feel less worried and more confident

Idioms

15 6.1

A thing very hard to find among many similar things

8 6.2

To make a clear change in results or numbers

To pass something carefully through a very small gap or to do a very precise and difficult action

A very hard task that is almost impossible

9.4

Reach and stay at the highest level shown on a meter

To try to find something that is hidden among many things

Compounds

hypodermic needle
  • Specialized
7 3.9

A thin hollow tube with a sharp point that doctors use to give medicine or take blood through the skin

A thin pointed stick used to make cloth by looping yarn

4 9.3

A plant like a spiky bush with long stiff leaves that have thin threadlike edges

2 3.8

A tall tower in Seattle that people visit to see the city

A thin metal tool with a point and a hole for thread used to push thread through cloth

needle biopsy
  • Specialized
1 3.5

A medical procedure that uses a hollow needle to take a small piece of body tissue for testing

needle dick
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A rude insult for a man who has very small private parts

A thin tool with a hooked end that pulls yarn through loops

1 8.4

A small pointed piece that touches a record's groove to make sound

darning needle
  • Archaic
9.6

A slender insect with bright shiny wings that eats mosquitoes and small insects

A long needle with a large eye for sewing with thick thread

A climbing plant with many small creamy white flowers that grows over other plants

A slender flying insect with long body and clear wings often found near water

A long needle with a large eye that you use to thread thick thread for decorative sewing

A plant that grows in dry places with long stiff leaves that have thin threads along the edges

9.9

A person very skilled at making clothes or quilts

A thin piece of metal with a magnet that points north in a compass

ice needle
  • Specialized
6.7

A thin pointed piece of ice that grows from cold surfaces

needle bar
  • Specialized
6.9

A metal rod in a sewing machine that holds and moves the needle up and down

needle bearing
  • Specialized
6.2

A small part with thin metal rollers that helps a shaft turn smoothly

8.4

A small palm tree with long, stiff leaves that look like needles

A water plant with thin leaves that adds oxygen to aquarium water

A water plant with thin leaves used in aquariums to add oxygen

needle wood
  • Australian
9.9

A large bush with sharp pointed leaves and creamy white flowers

needle-bush
  • Australian
9.9

A shrub from eastern Australia with leaves like needles and white flowers

needle blight
  • Specialized
8.9

A disease that makes the needles of pine or spruce trees fall early

needle bush
  • Australian
9.7

A shrub with sharp needle-shaped leaves and white flowers from eastern Australia

needle cast
  • Specialized
7.9

A disease of pine and spruce trees that makes their needles turn brown and fall early

needle drop
  • Jargon
7.9

A moment when a song starts in a film or show that makes the scene more powerful

9.9

A prickly bush with bright yellow flowers that grows on moors

needle-wood
  • Australian
9.9

A large bush with sharp pointed leaves and creamy white flowers from central and eastern Australia

packing needle
  • Specialized
7.0

A large strong needle that sews thick materials like canvas

A strong, often curved sewing tool for thick furniture fabric

How Annoying

to antagonize
  • US
31 7.6
to provoke
144 3.6
to taunt
  • Offensive
93 5.8
to needle
8 7.7
to tease
245 1.9

Surface Forms

needle infinitive
needled past
needled past participle
needling present participle
needles third person singular

Etymology

A helpful way to remember the verb needle (to annoy) is to think of small sharp pokes: it comes from the old English nædl for a sharp point, so to needle someone is to 'prick' them with quick, irritating words or actions. That's why to needle someone means to tease or provoke them little by little.