pincushion

UK /ˈpɪnˌkʊʃn̩/ · US /ˈpɪnˌkʊʃ(ə)n/ noun, verb

Forms pincushions pincushioning pincushioned pin cushion pin-cushion

1. noun (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. noun A flowering plant in the genus Leucospermum.
3. noun A flowering plant in the genus Scabiosa.
4. noun A coral bead plant, coral moss, or English baby tears (Nertera granadensis), an ornamental plant.
5. noun A dustymaiden, a flowering plant in the genus Chaenactis.
6. noun A pincushion cactus, of the genera Escobaria or Mammillaria.
7. noun A pincushionplant, a flowering plant in the genus Navarretia.
8. noun (figuratively, colloquial) A person who is pricked or stabbed multiple times with sharp objects; specifically, someone who receives regular hypodermic needle injections. “Insulin-dependent diabetics are human pincushions.”
9. verb (transitive, also figuratively) To jab or stick repeatedly with one or more sharp objects, as with pins into a pincushion. “The target was pincushioned with arrows.”
10. verb (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.

Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “pincushion”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details