Definition of "pinprick" [pinprick]

• A slight puncture made by or as if by a pin. (noun)
• An insignificant wound. (noun)
• A minor annoyance. (noun)
• To puncture with or as if with a pin. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "(I still feel like I'm nowhere close to being done, but the light at the end of the tunnel that used to be the size of a pinprick is now at least the size of a saucer.)"
• "He made it clear that this would not be what many have termed a pinprick, but a sustained operation."
• "To those who fear for their survival at every turn, a pinprick is the same as a punch, is the same as a grenade, is the same as a cluster bomb, is the same as a nuclear holocaust."