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Glite Dictionary
😠 An unpleasant man 🍆 A vulgar penis 🪡 To pierce 🤏 To sting 🩹 A small puncture 🔘 A small dent 🦊 To raise ears
to prick

to prick

14 3.9
To make a small hole in something with a sharp point
  • verb
  • /prɪk/
translation icon : pinchar
  • After a time, he no longer bothered with the ticks pricking at his scalp.

They made their point, but, and she pricked her finger on it, she began to fall down.

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Examples

  • Reaching for it, she pricked her finger and three drops of blood fell.

    Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)

  • Lurch's needle slips from the noise, and he pricks his finger.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • If you prick him, does he not bleed?

    The Art of a Bullet (1999)

  • They're gonna prick your finger just to take a little bit of blood.

    The Hunger Games (2012)

  • You might prick yourself a few times, but it is helpful because then you don't get too deep through the fabric.

  • Ivy feels the spray of crystals prick her cheek.

    Academic text (2007)

  • Throughout the study, neither of the two researchers was pricked or cut because of the extensive precautions taken.

    Academic text (1994)

  • Drops of allergen extract are placed on the skin, which is then pricked with a stylus or needle.

    Academic text (2012)

  • The man rubbed something on Lloyd's right buttock and then pricked it with a needle.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • She carefully pricked the balloon with a needle to let the air out.

Synonyms

to pierce
vsto prick
110 3.5

To make a hole in something with a sharp object like a needle

is about making a small surface hole rather than going all the way through
to puncture
vsto prick
50 3.9

To make a small hole in something with a sharp object that lets air or liquid escape

is about making a small hole with a sharp point without implying leakage
to hole
vsto prick
6 6.4

To make an opening in something by cutting or piercing

is specific to small sharp-point openings rather than general openings made many ways
to needle
vsto prick
2 5.3

To pierce skin or cloth with a thin sharp object

is used for any sharp point action, not only thin tools
to prickle
vsto prick
4.4

Make a small hole in something with a sharp point

is broader, applying to any sharp point, including tiny insect stings

Idioms

to acting like a prick
  • Offensive
9.9

To behave in a rude and hurtful way to other people

Phrasal Verbs

to prick up
3 4.9

Ears suddenly point up when an animal hears something and becomes alert

How Forceful

to stab
  • NSFW
459 2.7
to pierce
110 3.5
to prick
14 3.9
poke
4 2.5
tap
66 1.0

Surface Forms

prick infinitive
pricked past
pricked past participle
pricking present participle
pricks third person singular

Etymology

Prick as a verb comes from the simple idea of making a small 'hole' with a sharp point, like a needle or pin. So to 'prick' something is to make that tiny hole or puncture.