prick

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To make a small hole in something with a sharp point.

   The nurse pricked my finger to take a blood sample.

2. 2
   verb

   To cause a sharp, stinging pain.

   The thorns pricked her hands as she picked the roses.

3. 3
   noun

   The act or feeling of being pierced by a small, sharp point.

   I felt a sharp prick as the needle went in.

4. 4
   verb

   To raise something, especially ears, in attention.

   The dog pricked up its ears at the sound.

Common collocations

• prick up Verb + adverb

From Middle English prik, prikke, from Old English prica, pricu (“a sharp point, minute mark, spot, dot, small portion, prick”), from Proto-West Germanic *prikō, *priku, from Proto-Germanic *prikô, *prikō (“a prick, point”), of uncertain origin, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *breyǵ- (“to scrape, scratch, rub, prickle, chap”). Cognate with West Frisian prik (“small hole”), West Frisian prikke (“penis”), Dutch prik (“point, small stick", also "penis”), Danish prik (“dot”), Icelandic prik (“dot, small stick”).

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
• Google Images