Word.ws English Dictionary

needle in a haystack

needle in a haystack noun: something that is difficult or impossible to locate.

Noun

needle in a haystack (plural needles in a haystack or needles in haystacks)

  1. (idiomatic) Something that is difficult or impossible to locate.
    • You'll never find the paper you need on her desk. You're looking for a needle in a haystack.

needle in a haystack meaning in Arabic

needle in a haystack in Arabic

idiomatic
إِبْرَةٌ فِي كَوْمَةِ قَشٍّ ʔibratun fī kawmati qaššin

Forms of needle in a haystack

pluralneedles in a haystack
pluralneedles in haystacks

Questions about needle in a haystack

What does needle in a haystack mean?
Needle in a haystack means something that is difficult or impossible to locate.
What is needle in a haystack in Arabic?
Needle in a haystack in Arabic is إِبْرَةٌ فِي كَوْمَةِ قَشٍّ (ʔibratun fī kawmati qaššin). See Needle in a haystack meaning in Arabic.
What part of speech is needle in a haystack?
Needle in a haystack is a noun.
What is the plural of needle in a haystack?
The plural of needle in a haystack is needles in a haystack.

Words near needle in a haystack in the dictionary

  1. needle gun
  2. needle guns
  3. needle holder
  4. needle holders
  5. needle ice
  6. needle in a haystack
  7. needle lace
  8. needle laces
  9. needle loom
  10. needle looms
  11. needle match

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: needle in a haystack (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-needle in a haystack.ogg.

Cite this entry: “needle in a haystack.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/needle_in_a_haystack. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.