needle

B1 · Intermediate Countable noun Medicine

n. a thin, hollow metal tube with a sharp point used by doctors to give medicine or take blood.

n. a hollow, sharpened instrument used for subcutaneous, intramuscular, or intravenous injections and aspirations.

日本語:針※

“The nurse used a new needle to give the patient his flu shot.”

“Modern medical protocols require the immediate disposal of used needles into a puncture-resistant sharps container to prevent accidental injury.”

B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun

n. the thin pointer on a dial or gauge that shows a measurement.

n. a slender pointer on a measuring instrument, such as a compass, speedometer, or pressure gauge.

日本語:針※

“The needle on the fuel gauge was pointing to empty.”

“As the aircraft accelerated, the pilot watched the needle on the airspeed indicator climb steadily toward the cruising threshold.”

B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun Science

n. the thin, sharp leaf of a tree like a pine or fir.

n. a stiff, slender, needle-shaped leaf characteristic of many coniferous trees.

“The ground was covered in dry pine needles after the storm.”

“The forest floor was carpeted with a thick layer of acidic needles, which inhibited the growth of most smaller flowering plants.”

C1 · Advanced Countable noun Computing Technical

n. a specific piece of text that you are looking for inside a larger document or string.

n. a specific string or pattern being searched for within a larger body of data, often referred to as the haystack.

“The function returns the position of the needle within the longer string.”

“The algorithm is designed to locate the needle efficiently even when the haystack consists of several gigabytes of unstructured text.”

C1 · Advanced Informal

v. to annoy or tease someone by repeatedly pointing out their mistakes or making fun of them.

v. to provoke, annoy, or harass someone through persistent teasing or petty criticism.

“His older brother would always needle him about his fear of spiders.”

“The defense attorney continued to needle the witness, hoping a frustrated outburst would undermine their credibility before the jury.”