Needle vs. Pin — What's the Difference?

A tool for sewing, made of a thin metal with a point at one end and an eye at the other.

A short metal or plastic fastener with a sharp point.

Integral in quilting to join layers of fabric with batting.

Includes safety pins, which have a clasp to prevent injury.

Diverse in types, including curved and double-pointed for specific tasks.

In medicine, pins are used in orthopedic surgery to fix bones.

Essential for embroidery and detailed textile work.

Decorative pins can serve as fashion accessories.

A slender, pointed implement used for sewing or surgical suturing, made usually of polished steel and having an eye at one end through which a length of thread is passed and held.

Often used to temporarily secure fabric during sewing.

Any of various similar implements, such as a fine sharp-pointed instrument used in acupuncture or a pointed shaft used in knitting, crocheting, or lace making.

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 sharp-pointed instrument used in engraving.

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

A slender piece of jewel or steel used to transmit vibrations from the grooves of a phonograph record.

Attach or fasten with a pin or pins

A slender pointer or indicator on a dial, scale, or similar part of a mechanical device.

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

A magnetic needle.

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 hypodermic needle.

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

(Informal) A hypodermic injection; a shot.

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

Chiefly Upper Northern US See dragonfly.

A whit; a jot

A narrow stiff leaf, as of a pine or fir.

A thin rod for securing the ends of fractured bones.

A fine, sharp projection, as a spine of a sea urchin or a crystal.

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

A tall narrow rock formation.

A cotter pin.

An obelisk.

The part of a key stem entering a lock.

(Informal) A goading, provoking, or teasing remark or act.

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

To prick, pierce, or stitch with a needle.

(Nautical) A belaying pin.

(Informal) To goad, provoke, or tease.

(Nautical) A thole pin.

To sew or do similar work with a needle.

An ornament fastened to clothing by means of a clasp.

A long, thin, sharp implement usually for piercing as in sewing, embroidery, acupuncture, tattooing, body piercing, medical injections, sutures, etc; or a blunt but otherwise similar implement used for forming loops or knots in crafts such as darning, knitting, tatting, etc.

A rolling pin.

Any slender, pointed object resembling a needle, such as a pointed crystal, a sharp pinnacle of rock, an obelisk, etc.

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

A fine measurement indicator on a dial or graph.

A flagstick.

(informal) A sensor for playing phonograph records, a phonograph stylus.

See fall.

A needle-like leaf found on some conifers.

Pins(Informal) The legs

A strong beam resting on props, used as a temporary support during building repairs.

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

The death penalty carried out by lethal injection.

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

(programming) A text string that is searched for within another string. (see: needle in a haystack)

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

(entomology) Any of various species of damselfly of the genus Synlestes, endemic to Australia.

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

To pierce with a needle, especially for sewing or acupuncture.

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

(transitive) To tease in order to provoke; to poke fun at.

To transfix.

(ambitransitive) To form, or be formed, in the shape of a needle.

To place in a position of trusting dependence

A small instrument of steel, sharply pointed at one end, with an eye to receive a thread, - used in sewing.

To hold fast; immobilize

See Magnetic needle, under Magnetic.

(Sports) To win a fall from in wrestling.

A slender rod or wire used in knitting; a knitting needle; also, a hooked instrument which carries the thread or twine, and by means of which knots or loops are formed in the process of netting, knitting, or crocheting.

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

One of the needle-shaped secondary leaves of pine trees. See Pinus.

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

Any slender, pointed object, like a needle, as a pointed crystal, a sharp pinnacle of rock, an obelisk, etc.

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 hypodermic needle; a syringe fitted with a hypodermic needle, used for injecting fluids into the body.

A small nail with a head and a sharp point.

An injection of medicine from a hypodermic needle; a shot.

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

To form in the shape of a needle; as, to needle crystals.

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

To tease (a person), especially repeatedly.

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

To prod or goad (someone) into action by teasing or daring.

A leg.

To form needles; to crystallize in the form of needles.

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

As of a conifer

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

A slender pointer for indicating the reading on the scale of a measuring instrument

(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.

A sharp pointed implement (usually steel)

(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.

A stylus that formerly made sound by following a groove in a phonograph record

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

Goad or provoke,as by constant criticism;

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

Prick with a needle

(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

The main difference lies in their use; needles are used for sewing or medical purposes, while pins are used for fastening or temporarily holding materials together.

Yes, needles are extensively used in the medical field for injections, drawing, and other procedures.

While most pins are made of metal for strength and durability, they can also be made of plastic, especially decorative pins.

Needles themselves lack safety features; however, medical needles often come with caps or are part of devices designed to prevent needle-stick injuries.

The choice depends on the task: use a needle for sewing or medical injections and a pin for temporarily securing materials or as a fastener.

Yes, there are various needles designed for specific fabrics and tasks, such as leather needles, embroidery needles, and quilting needles.

Pins can leave small holes, especially in delicate fabrics, which is why they are used temporarily and with care.

Safety pins are used for fastening materials together securely, with a clasp mechanism to protect against the sharp point.

The heads on pins serve as a grip for easy handling and to prevent the pin from slipping completely through the materials.

Medical needles are typically made of stainless steel for strength, sharpness, and sterility, with some having plastic components for handling.