PRICKING

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does pricking mean? 

• PRICKING (noun)
  The noun PRICKING has 1 sense:

1. the act of puncturing with a small point

  Familiarity information: PRICKING used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PRICKING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of puncturing with a small point

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

prick; pricking

Context example:

he gave the balloon a small prick

Hypernyms ("pricking" is a kind of...):

puncture (the act of puncturing or perforating)

Derivation:

prick (make a small hole into, as with a needle or a thorn)

 Context examples 

“Now, God's blessing on your honest English voice!” cried the stranger, pricking up his ears at the sound of Alleyne's words.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA) Somatic (sensory); tinnitus, blurring of vision, hot and cold flushes, feelings of weakness, pricking sensation.

(HAMA - Somatic (Sensory), NCI Thesaurus)

"Tell me all about it. Are limes the fashion now? It used to be pricking bits of rubber to make balls."

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

The Brazilian biosensor can identify an enzyme called glucose oxidase — widely used to detect free glucose in body fluids — in tears, eliminating the need for finger pricking.

(Brazilian researchers eye biosensors to monitor diabetes, SciDev.Net)

In spite of himself and all the pricking warnings of his instinct, White Fang began to have confidence in this god.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

They include: • Tests on a few drops of blood from pricking the baby's heel • A hearing test that measures the baby's response to sound • A skin test that measures the level of oxygen in the blood.

(Newborn Screening, NIH: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)

He is below pricking out the coat-armor of his mother's uncle.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

All this was a spur to her, pricking her to retaliation.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Many people with the disease use a portable glycosometer to measure blood glucose levels by pricking their fingertips to get a blood sample.

(Brazilian researchers eye biosensors to monitor diabetes, SciDev.Net)

“Ha!” cried Sir Nigel, pricking up his ears.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)