Definition of "pricking" [prick•ing]

• Present participle of prick. (verb)
• The act of piercing or puncturing with a sharp point. (noun)
• The driving of a nail into a horse's foot so as to produce lameness. (noun)
• A nicking. (noun)
• The mark or trace left by a hare's foot; a prick. (noun)

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• "I take great pleasure in pricking each berry with a needle in several places then dropping them into a bottle with sugar and gin, but others like to freeze the sloes in a plastic bag then bash them hard with a hammer or rolling pin."
• "As the Roman Virginius stood with his sword pricking the flesh over the heart of his beloved daughter, so do I stand ready to destroy my offspring rather than suffer its dishonor at the hands of any Appius Claudius."
• "Africa, the fashion is merely to raise the epidermis by a slight pricking, which is described as affording rather a pleasurable excitement."