Wiktionary:Word of the day/2020/April 17

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Word of the day
for April 17
pincushion n
  1. (sewing) A device, originally like a small, stuffed cushion, designed to have sewing pins and needles stuck into it to store them safely; some modern pincushions hold the objects magnetically.
  2. The names of various plants with flowers or other parts resembling a pincushion.
    1. A flowering plant in the genus Leucospermum.
    2. A flowering plant in the genus Scabiosa.
    3. The coral bead plant, coral moss, or English baby tears (Nertera granadensis), an ornamental plant.
    4. The dustymaiden, a flowering plant in the genus Chaenactis.
    5. The pincushion cactus, of the genera Escobaria or Mammillaria.
    6. The pincushionplant, a flowering plant in the genus Navarretia.
  3. (figuratively, colloquial) A person who is pricked or stabbed multiple times with sharp objects; specifically, someone who receives regular hypodermic needle injections.

pincushion v

  1. (transitive, also figuratively) To jab or stick repeatedly with one or more sharp objects, as with pins into a pincushion.
  2. (intransitive) To assume the shape of a pincushion; specifically, of the image on a computer display, television, etc., to exhibit pincushion distortion, where the sides curve inwards.
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