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

to prick

18 3.9
To make a small hole in something with a sharp point
  • verb
  • /prɪk/
: 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
121 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
44 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
5 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
1 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
1 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
1 9.9

To behave in a rude and hurtful way to other people

Phrasal Verbs

to prick up
2 4.9

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

How Forceful

to stab
  • NSFW
628 2.7
to pierce
121 3.5
to prick
18 3.9
poke
17 2.5
tap
57 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.