PINS AND NEEDLES Definition & Meaning

View synonyms for

pins and needles

noun

a tingly, prickly sensation in a limb that is recovering from numbness.

pins and needles

noun

a tingling sensation in the fingers, toes, legs, etc, caused by the return of normal blood circulation after its temporary impairment
on pins and needles
in a state of anxious suspense or nervous anticipation

Discover More

�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of pins and needles¹

First recorded in 1800–10

Discover More

Idioms and Phrases

on pins and needles, in a state of nervous anticipation:
The father-to-be was on pins and needles.

Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

"I'd started to get these really intense pins and needles in my hands. It was like throwing a snowball and then running your hands under hot water afterwards. It's really painful and hot."

From

Since Trump’s takeover, Kennedy Center watchers have been on pins and needles about what the schedule might look like.

From

Writing in his column in The Sunday Times, the 64-year-old said he had symptoms of feeling "clammy", a "tightness" in his chest, and "pins and needles" in his left arm after returning from a holiday.

From

John Kelly was driving to Dublin for work when he felt a tightness in his chest and pins and needles in his arm.

From

The region is now on pins and needles awaiting reprisals from Iran, Hezbollah and perhaps other Iranian proxy groups, risking escalation and wider war.

From

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Browse