noun1. a. a short stiff straight piece of wire pointed at one end and either rounded or having a flattened head at the other: used mainly for fastening pieces of cloth, paper, etc, esp temporarily
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 a clip on a hand grenade that prevents its detonation until removed or released
10. nauticala. belaying pin
c. the sliding closure for a shackle
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 a metal rod, esp of stainless steel, for holding together adjacent ends of fractured bones during healing
13. chess a position in which a piece is pinned against a more valuable piece or the king
14. golf the flagpole marking the hole on a green
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 a position in which a person is held tight or immobile, esp with both shoulders touching the ground
17. a dovetail tenon used to make a dovetail joint
18. (in Britain) a miniature beer cask containing 41⁄2 gallons
19. (usually plural) informal a leg
20. be put to the pin on one's collar
verbWord forms: pins, pinning or pinned (transitive)21. to attach, hold, or fasten with or as if with a pin or pins
22. to transfix with a pin, spear, etc
23. (foll by on) informal to place (the blame for something)
he pinned the charge on his accomplice
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
25. Also: underpin to support (masonry), as by driving in wedges over a beam