Definition of 'pin'
Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular present tense pins
, present participle pinning
, past tense, past participle pinned
1. countable noun
Pins are very small thin pointed pieces of metal. They are used in sewing to fasten pieces of material together until they have been sewn.
3. verb
If someone pins you to something, they press you against a surface so that you cannot move.
4. countable noun
A pin is any long narrow piece of metal or wood that is not sharp, especially one that is used to fasten two things together.
5. verb
If someone tries to pin something on you or to pin the blame on you, they say, often unfairly, that you were responsible for something bad or illegal.
6. verb
7. verb
If someone pins their hair up or pins their hair back, they arrange their hair away from their face using hair pins.
8. countable noun
A pin is something worn on your clothing, for example as jewellery, which is fastened with a pointed piece of metal.
[US] 9. countable noun
A pin is the part of a hand grenade that is pulled out in order to make the grenade explode.
10. See also drawing pin, pins and needles, rolling pin, safety pin
11.
Phrasal verbs:
See pin down
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
singular noun [oft NOUN noun]
Someone's PIN or PIN number is a secret number which they can use, for example, with a bank card to withdraw money from a cash machine or ATM. PIN is an abbreviation for 'personal identification number'.
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
British English pronunciation
American English pronunciation
You may also like
Word Frequency
pin in British English
noun
1.
a.
b.
(in combination)
pinhole
2. short for cotter pin, hairpin, panel pin, rolling pin, safety pin
3.
an ornamental brooch, esp a narrow one
4.
a badge worn fastened to the clothing by a pin
5.
something of little or no importance (esp in the phrases not care or give a pin (for))
7.
anything resembling a pin in shape, function, etc
8.
(in various bowling games) a usually club-shaped wooden object set up in groups as
a target
9. Also called: cotter pin, safety pin
11. music
a metal tuning peg on a piano, the end of which is inserted into a detachable key by means of which it is turned
12. surgery
15.
a.
the cylindrical part of a key that enters a lock
b.
the cylindrical part of a lock where this part of the key fits
16. wrestling
19. (usually plural) informal
a leg
verbWord forms: pins, pinning, pinned (transitive)
21.
to attach, hold, or fasten with or as if with a pin or pins
24. chess
to cause (an enemy piece) to be effectively immobilized by attacking it with a queen, rook, or bishop so that moving it would reveal a check or expose a more valuable piece to capture
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word origin
Old English pinn; related to Old High German pfinn, Old Norse pinni nail
Word Frequency
PIN in British English
noun acronym for
personal identification number: a number used by a holder of a cash card or credit card used in EFTPOS
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word Frequency
PIN in American English
noun
an identification number entered on a keypad in order to gain access to a computer, ATM, etc.
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word origin
p(ersonal) i(dentification) n(umber)Word Frequency
pin in American English
noun
1.
a peg of wood, metal, etc., used esp. for fastening or holding things together or
as a support on which to hang things
2.
a little piece of stiff wire with a pointed end and a flattened or rounded head,
used for fastening things together or holding them in place; straight pin
3.
4.
a pointed instrument for holding the hair, a hat, etc. in place
5.
clothespin, safety pin, cotter pin, etc.
6.
anything like a pin in form, use, etc.
8. Informal
the leg
usually used in pl.9. Bowling
any of the bottle-shaped pieces of wood, or wood coated with plastic, at which the
ball is rolled
11. Medicine
a metal rod used to hold a broken bone together
verb transitiveWord forms: pinned or ˈpinning
15.
to fasten with or as with a pin
16.
to pierce with a pin
17.
to hold firmly in one place or position
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word origin
ME pyn < OE pinn, akin to MHG pfinne, a nail, prob. < IE base *bend-, projecting point > MIr benn, peak
Word Frequency
pin in American English
(pɪn) (verb pinned, pinning)
noun
1.
a small, slender, often pointed piece of wood, metal, etc., used to fasten, support,
or attach things
2.
a short, slender piece of wire with a point at one end and a head at the other, for
fastening things together
3. (often used in combination)
any of various forms of fasteners or ornaments consisting essentially or partly of a pointed or penetrating wire or shaft
a jeweled pin
4.
a badge having a pointed bar or pin attached, by which it is fastened to the clothing
a fraternity pin
5. Machinery
a.
a short metal rod, as a linchpin, driven through holes in adjacent parts, as a hub and an axle, to keep the parts together
b.
c.
a short axle, as one on which a pulley rotates in a block
6.
the part of a cylindrical key stem entering a lock
7.
a clothespin
8.
a hairpin
9. See rolling pin
11. Tenpin Bowling
12. Golf
the flag staff which identifies a hole
14. informal
a human leg
16. Wrestling
a fall
18. Carpentry
a tenon in a dovetail joint; dovetail
19.
a very small amount; a trifle
Such insincere advice isn't worth a pin
20. Chess
the immobilization of an enemy piece by attacking it so that it cannot be moved without
exposing the king to check or a more valuable piece to capture
21. Electronics
a pin-shaped connection, as the terminals on the base of an electron tube or the connections on an integrated circuit
22. See pull the pin
transitive verb
SYNONYMS 1. bolt, peg. 3. brooch.23.
to fasten or attach with or as with a pin or pins
to pin two pieces of cloth together
24. (sometimes fol. by down)
to hold fast in a spot or position
The debris pinned him down
25.
to transfix or mount with a pin or the like
to pin a flower as a botanical specimen
26. Chess
to immobilize (an enemy piece) by placing one's queen, rook, or bishop in a position
to check the exposed king or capture a valuable piece if the pinned piece were moved
27. Wrestling
to secure a fall over one's opponent
28. See get pinned
29. See pin down
30. See pin in
31. See pin something on someone
32. See pin up
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Word origin
[bef. 1100; (n.) ME pinne, OE pinn peg; c. D pin, G Pinne, ON pinni; perh. ‹ L pinna feather, quill ( see pinna); (v.) ME pinnen, deriv. of the n.]Word Frequency
PIN in American English
(pɪn)
noun
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Word origin
[p(ersonal) i(dentification) n(umber)]Word Frequency
PIN in Finance
(pɪn) or personal identification number
abbreviation
(Finance: Banking)
Usually when you use a debit card, you must key in a PIN.
Your PIN is the number that you use as a security access code for your bank accounts when
you use telephone or Internet banking, or an ATM.
A PIN is a secret number used to withdraw money from an ATM or to authorize a debit card.
Collins COBUILD Key Words for Finance. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word Frequency
PIN in Retail
(pɪn) or personal identification number
abbreviation
(Retail: Payment technology)
Your PIN is the number, known only to you, that you type into card readers to confirm your identity when paying by credit or debit card, or when withdrawing money from
an ATM.
Sales clerks should always ask customers to enter their PIN when paying by credit card.
Please insert your card in the machine and key in your PIN.
Your PIN is the number, known only to you, that you type into card readers to confirm your
identity when paying by credit or debit card, or when withdrawing money from an ATM.
Collins COBUILD Key Words for Retail. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Examples of 'pin' in a sentence
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In other languages
pin
British English: pin
/pɪn/ NOUN
Pins are very small thin pieces of metal with points at one end, which are used to fasten things together.
...a box of needles and pins.
- American English: pin /ˈpɪn/
- Arabic: دَبُّوس
- Brazilian Portuguese: pino
- Chinese: 大头针
- Croatian: igla
- Czech: špendlík
- Danish: nål
- Dutch: speld
- European Spanish: alfiler
- Finnish: nuppineula
- French: épingle
- German: Stecknadel
- Greek: καρφίτσα
- Italian: spillo
- Japanese: ピン
- Korean: 핀
- Norwegian: pinkode
- Polish: szpilka
- European Portuguese: alfinete
- Romanian: bold
- Russian: булавка
- Latin American Spanish: alfiler
- Swedish: nål
- Thai: เข็มหมุด
- Turkish: toplu iğne
- Ukrainian: шпилька
- Vietnamese: ghim
British English: pin
VERB /pɪn/
If you pin something on or to something, you attach it with a pin, a drawing pin, or a safety pin.
They pinned a notice to the door.
- American English: pin /ˈpɪn/
- Brazilian Portuguese: alfinetar
- Chinese: 用图钉钉住
- European Spanish: sujetar con un alfiler {or} una chincheta {or} un imperdible
- French: épingler
- German: feststecken
- Italian: appuntare
- Japanese: ピンで留める
- Korean: 핀 등으로 고정하다
- European Portuguese: alfinetar
- Latin American Spanish: sujetar con un alfiler {or} una chincheta
- Thai: ติดด้วยหมุด
British English: PIN
/pɪn/ NOUN
Someone's PIN or PIN number is a secret number which they can use, for example, with a bank card to withdraw money from a cash machine. PIN is an abbreviation for 'personal identification number'.
Please enter your PIN.
- American English: PIN /ˈpɪn/
- Arabic: رَقَمُ التَّعْريفُ الشَّخْصِيّ
- Brazilian Portuguese: número de identificação pessoal
- Chinese: 密码
- Croatian: PIN
- Czech: PIN osobní identifikační číslo
- Danish: pinkode
- Dutch: PIN
- European Spanish: número de identificación personal
- Finnish: tunnusluku
- French: code secret
- German: Geheimnummer
- Greek: αριθμός ΡΙΝ
- Italian: PIN
- Japanese: 暗証番号
- Korean: PIN
- Norwegian: PIN-kode
- Polish: osobisty numer identyfikacyjny
- European Portuguese: número de identificação pessoal
- Romanian: PIN
- Russian: ПИН-код
- Latin American Spanish: número de identificación personal
- Swedish: kod
- Thai: เลขรหัสลับส่วนตัว
- Turkish: kredi kartı şifresi
- Ukrainian: PIN-код
- Vietnamese: mật khẩu
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