for fastening / joining
1 a short thin piece of stiff wire with a sharp point at one end and a round head at the other, used especially for fastening together pieces of fabric when sewing
seealsoBOBBYPIN, DRAWINGPIN, HAIRPIN, LINCHPIN, PINSANDNEEDLES, SAFETYPIN
jewellery
2 a short thin piece of stiff wire with a sharp point at one end and an item of decoration at the other, worn as jewellery:
a diamond pin
seealsoTIEPIN
3 (especially AmE) = BROOCH
badge
4 (especially AmE) a type of BADGE that is fastened with a pin at the back:
He supports the group and wears its pin on his lapel.
medical
5 a piece of steel used to support a bone in your body when it has been broken:
The pin in her spine will have to be changed as she grows.
electrical
6 one of the metal parts that stick out of an electric PLUG and fit into a SOCKET:
a 2-pin plug
in games
7 a wooden or plastic object that is shaped like a bottle and that players try to knock down in games such as BOWLING
seealsoNINEPINS, TENPIN
in golf
8 a stick with a flag on top of it, placed in a hole so that players can see where they are aiming for:
The ball stopped five feet short of the pin.
seealsoLINCHPIN
legs
9 (pins) [pl.] (informal) a person's legs:
He's not as quick on his pins as he used to be.
on small bomb
10 a small piece of metal on a HANDGRENADE that stops it from exploding and is pulled out just before the HANDGRENADE is thrown
IDIOMS
for two pins (old-fashioned, BrE) used to say that you would like to do sth, even though you know that it would not be sensible:
I'd kill him for two pins. * For two pins I'd tell her what I really think of her.
moreatHEAR
verb (-nn-) [VN+adv./prep.]
fasten / join
1 to attach sth onto another thing or fasten things together with a pin, etc:
She pinned the badge onto her jacket. * A message had been pinned to the notice board. * Pin all the pieces of material together. * She always wears her hair pinned back.
prevent movement
2 to make sb unable to move by holding them or pressing them against sth:
They pinned him against a wall and stole his wallet. * He grabbed her arms and pinned them to her sides. * They found him pinned under the wreckage of the car.
IDIOMS
pin (all) your hopes on sb/sth
