Badge vs. Pin — What's the Difference?

A symbol of affiliation, authority, or achievement.

A decorative item worn on clothing.

Often used to indicate membership or rank.

Offers a way to personalize appearance.

Varies in form according to its purpose.

Can represent affiliation in a more casual context.

Can grant access or privileges.

Does not typically convey official status.

Associated with pride and accomplishment.

Used for personal expression or solidarity.

A badge is a device or accessory, often containing the insignia of an organization, which is presented or displayed to indicate some feat of service, a special accomplishment, a symbol of authority granted by taking an oath (e.g., police and fire), a sign of legitimate employment or student status, or as a simple means of identification. They are also used in advertising, publicity, and for branding purposes.

A pin is a device used for fastening objects or material together, and can have three sorts of body: a shaft of a rigid inflexible material meant to be inserted in a slot, groove, or hole (as with pivots, hinges, and jigs); a shaft connected to a head and ending in a sharp tip meant to pierce one or more pieces of soft materials like cloth or paper (the straight or push pin); a single strip of a rigid but flexible material (e.g. a wire) whose length has been folded into parallel prongs in such fashion that the middle length of each curves towards the other so that, when anything is inserted between them, they act as a clamp (e.g.

A device or emblem worn as an insignia of rank, office, or membership in an organization.

An identifying number allocated to an individual by a bank or other organization and used for validating electronic transactions.

An emblem given as an award or honor.

Attach or fasten with a pin or pins

A characteristic mark or indicative trait

Hold (someone) firmly in a specified position so they are unable to move

A distinctive mark, token, sign, emblem or cognizance, worn on one's clothing, as an insignia of some rank, or of the membership of an organization.

Hinder or prevent (a piece or pawn) from moving because of the danger to a more valuable piece standing behind it along the line of an attack

A small nameplate, identifying the wearer, and often giving additional information.

A short, straight, stiff piece of wire with a blunt head and a sharp point, used especially for fastening.

A card, sometimes with a barcode or magnetic strip, granting access to a certain area.

Something, such as a safety pin, that resembles such a piece of wire in shape or use.

Something characteristic; a mark; a token.

A whit; a jot

A brand on the hand of a thief, etc.

A thin rod for securing the ends of fractured bones.

(nautical) A carved ornament on the stern of a vessel, containing a window or the representation of one.

A peg for fixing the crown to the root of a tooth.

(heraldry) A distinctive mark worn by servants, retainers, and followers of royalty or nobility, who, being beneath the rank of gentlemen, have no right to armorial bearings.

A cotter pin.

(GUI) A small overlay on an icon that shows additional information about that item, such as the number of new alerts or messages.

The part of a key stem entering a lock.

An icon or emblem awarded to a user for some achievement.

(Music) One of the pegs securing the strings and regulating their tension on a stringed instrument.

(slang) A police officer.

(Nautical) A belaying pin.

(transitive) To mark or distinguish with a badge.

(Nautical) A thole pin.

(transitive) To show a badge to.

An ornament fastened to clothing by means of a clasp.

(ambitransitive) To enter a restricted area by showing one's badge.

A rolling pin.

A distinctive mark, token, sign, or cognizance, worn on the person; as, the badge of a society; the badge of a policeman.

One of the wooden clubs at which the ball is aimed in bowling.

Something characteristic; a mark; a token.

A flagstick.

A carved ornament on the stern of a vessel, containing a window or the representation of one.

See fall.

To mark or distinguish with a badge.

Pins(Informal) The legs

An emblem (a small piece of plastic or cloth or metal) that signifies your status (rank or membership or affiliation etc.);

(Electronics) A lead on a device that plugs into a socket to connect the device to a system.

Any feature that is regarded as a sign of status (a particular power or quality or rank);

Any of the pegs on the platen of a printer, which engage holes at the edges of paper.

Put a badge on;

Any of the styluses that form a dot matrix on a printer.

Any of the small metal prongs at the end of a connector that fit into the holes in a port.

To fasten or secure with or as if with a pin or pins.

To transfix.

To place in a position of trusting dependence

To hold fast; immobilize

(Sports) To win a fall from in wrestling.

To give (a woman) a fraternity pin in token of attachment.

Having a grain suggestive of the heads of pins. Used of leather.

A needle without an eye (usually) made of drawn-out steel wire with one end sharpened and the other flattened or rounded into a head, used for fastening.

A small nail with a head and a sharp point.

A cylinder often of wood or metal used to fasten or as a bearing between two parts.

The victory condition of holding the opponent's shoulders on the wrestling mat for a prescribed period of time.

A slender object specially designed for use in a specific game or sport, such as skittles or bowling.

A leg.

(electricity) Any of the individual connecting elements of a multipole electrical connector.

A piece of jewellery that is attached to clothing with a pin.

(US) A simple accessory that can be attached to clothing with a pin or fastener, often round and bearing a design, logo or message, and used for decoration, identification or to show political affiliation, etc.

(chess) Either a scenario in which moving a lesser piece to escape from attack would expose a more valuable piece to being taken instead, or one where moving a piece is impossible as it would place the king in check.

(golf) The flagstick: the flag-bearing pole which marks the location of a hole

(curling) The spot at the exact centre of the house (the target area)

(archery) The spot at the exact centre of the target, originally a literal pin that fastened the target in place.

(obsolete) A mood, a state of being.

One of a row of pegs in the side of an ancient drinking cup to mark how much each person should drink.

Caligo.

A thing of small value; a trifle.

A peg in musical instruments for increasing or relaxing the tension of the strings.

(engineering) A short shaft, sometimes forming a bolt, a part of which serves as a journal.

The tenon of a dovetail joint.

A size of brewery cask, equal to half a firkin, or eighth of a barrel.

(informal) A pinball machine.

(locksmithing) A small cylindrical object which blocks the rotation of a pin-tumbler lock when the incorrect key is inserted.

(often followed by a preposition such as "to" or "on") To fasten or attach (something) with a pin.

To cause (a piece) to be in a pin.

(wrestling) To pin down (someone).

To enclose; to confine; to pen; to pound.

To attach (an icon, application, message etc.) to another item so that it persists.

To fix (an array in memory, a security certificate, etc.) so that it cannot be modified.

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(transitive) To cause an analog gauge to reach the stop pin at the high end of the range.

To peen.

To inclose; to confine; to pen; to pound.

To fasten with, or as with, a pin; to join; as, to pin a garment; to pin boards together.

A piece of wood, metal, etc., generally cylindrical, used for fastening separate articles together, or as a support by which one article may be suspended from another; a peg; a bolt.

Especially, a small, pointed and headed piece of brass or other wire (commonly tinned), largely used for fastening clothes, attaching papers, etc.

Hence, a thing of small value; a trifle.

That which resembles a pin in its form or use

One of a row of pegs in the side of an ancient drinking cup to mark how much each man should drink.

The bull's eye, or center, of a target; hence, the center.

Mood; humor.

Caligo. See Caligo.

An ornament, as a brooch or badge, fastened to the clothing by a pin; as, a Masonic pin.

The leg; as, to knock one off his pins.

A piece of jewelry that is pinned onto the wearer's garment

When a wrestler's shoulders are forced to the mat

Small markers inserted into a surface to mark scores or define locations etc.

A number you choose and use to gain access to various accounts

Informal terms of the leg;

Axis consisting of a short shaft that supports something that turns

Cylindrical tumblers consisting of two parts that are held in place by springs; when they are aligned with a key the bolt can be thrown

Flagpole used to mark the position of the hole on a golf green

A small slender (often pointed) piece of wood or metal used to support or fasten or attach things

A holder attached to the gunwale of a boat that holds the oar in place and acts as a fulcrum for rowing

A club-shaped wooden object used in bowling; set up in groups as a target

To hold fast or prevent from moving;

Attach or fasten with pins

Pierce with a pin;

Immobilize a piece

In some contexts, yes. If a pin is used by an organization for identification or to signify achievement, it can function as a badge.

Both are typically worn on the chest area of clothing, attached via a pin, clip, or other mechanism, depending on their design.

Yes, pins are chosen and worn based on personal preference and do not require affiliation with an organization or specific achievement.

Yes, wearing a badge without authorization, especially if it represents an official position or authority (like a police badge), can have legal implications. Pins, being for personal expression, do not carry the same legal weight.

No, badges can be made from a variety of materials, including metal, plastic, cloth, or even digital formats.

The manufacturing process can vary widely depending on the material and complexity of the design, but both involve crafting a design into a durable form that can be attached to clothing.

Mostly, yes. Badges are usually issued by organizations to signify membership, authority, or achievement.

Yes, wearing a pin, especially one associated with a social cause or movement, can express solidarity or support and carry social significance.

Organizations typically have criteria for issuing badges, such as rank, role, achievement, or membership.

Pin collecting can be a hobby for many, offering a way to remember experiences, show interests, or connect with others who have similar passions.