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Needle

A needle is a long, slender, object with a pointed tip, usually made of metal.

• The first needles were used in sewing, and were often made of bone or wood. A needle for hand sewing has a hole at the non-pointed end to carry thread or cord through the fabric after the pointed end pierces it. Hand sewing needles have different names depending on their purpose, such as sharps, betweens, ballpoint, embroidery, leather, beading, chenille, upholstery, and tapestry.

• A sewing machine uses an eye-pointed metal needle (with a hole near the pointed tip).

• A hollow needle can be used to inject or extract liquids: see hypodermic needle and syringe.

• Both primitive and modern needles can be used in the process of tattooing the skin: see tattoo gun.

• A needle can be used as an indicator on a mechanical dial used for reporting or measurement.

• A needle (or more properly, a stylus) is mounted in the arm of a phonograph to play back music recorded on a gramophone record (and historically, on phonograph cylinders).

The leaves of certain evergreen plants are called needles by analogy with the primary meaning above. For details, see the article on pinophyta.

See also:

• pin

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Needle also refers to a chess engine. See Needle (chess).