needle

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
needle/ˈniːdl/

▶noun

• 1 a very fine, slender piece of metal with a point at one end and a hole or eye for thread at the other, used in sewing.

  ■ a similar, larger instrument used in crochet, knitting, etc.

• 2 the pointed hollow end of a hypodermic syringe.

• 3 a stylus used to play records.

• 4 a thin pointer on a dial, compass, etc.

• 5 the slender, sharp, stiff leaf of a fir or pine tree.

• 6 a steel pin exploding the cartridge of a breech-loading gun.

• 7 Brit. informal hostility or antagonism provoked by rivalry.

• 8 a beam used as a temporary support during underpinning.

▶verb

• 1 prick or pierce with a needle.

• 2 informal provoke or annoy by continual criticism or questioning.

– derivatives
needler noun.

– origin OE nǣdl, of Gmc origin.