pricker
Small piercing spine
A pricker is anything that pricks—a thorn, a needle, a sharp spine on a plant.
In New England especially, pricker refers to thorny bushes or briars: I got scratched up walking through the prickers.
The word also names tools designed for piercing: a sailmaker's pricker, an engraver's pricker.
Pointed piercing implement
Thorny shrub or bush
- brambleThorny wild shrub
- thistleSpiny flowering weed
- burdockPrickly-burred wild plant
- burrClinging seed case
barb · spine · quill · cocklebur · sandbur · nettle · hedgerow · thicket
Sharp wound from insect
stab · smarting · irritation · scratch · bite · pinch · twinge · sharp pain
Spiny desert plant
- roseStood up, or fragrant bloom
- blackberryAggregate fruit from thorny canes
- raspberryAggregate bramble fruit
- hawthornThorny berry-bearing shrub
holly · acacia · honey locust · devil's club · gooseberry · barberry · crown of thorns · agave
Spiny nocturnal mammal
- porcupineBarbed defensive rodent
- echidnaEgg-laying spined mammal
- sea urchinSpiny marine echinoderm
- spiny lobsterClawless marine crustacean
stingray · lionfish · scorpionfish · catfish · quillback
awl
Pointed piercing implement
briar
Thorny shrub or bush
burr · barb · spine · quill · cocklebur · sandbur · nettle · hedgerow · thicket · underbrush
sting
Sharp wound from insect
pierce · stab · smarting · irritation · scratch · bite · pinch · twinge · sharp pain
cactus
Spiny desert plant
- roseStood up, or fragrant bloom
- blackberryAggregate fruit from thorny canes
- raspberryAggregate bramble fruit
hawthorn · holly · acacia · honey locust · devil's club · gooseberry · barberry · crown of thorns · agave · yucca
hedgehog
Spiny nocturnal mammal
- porcupineBarbed defensive rodent
- echidnaEgg-laying spined mammal
- sea urchinSpiny marine echinoderm
spiny lobster · stingray · lionfish · scorpionfish · catfish · quillback
- pointed thingsspike, needle point, knife point, spear point, arrow
- lacemaking suppliesbobbins, pillow, bolster pillow, patterns, pattern books
- leathercraftawls, needles, hole punch, burnisher, skiver
- phlebotomyblood draw, blood sample, phlebotomist, vacutainer, tourniquet
- riggingbackstay, backstays, shackle, pulley, blocks
- prick upRaise alertly
- pricks up one's earsBegins listening alertly
- prickly pearSpine-covered cactus, edible fruit
- prickly heatSweat-related skin rash
- pricked ears
- finger prickSmall puncture for sampling
prickly, prick, prickle, pricked, pricking, pricks, prickliness, prickers, unpricked