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Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
safety pin
noun
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Heating an implement made of a straightened safety pin, he speared the bugs, then brought them to the candle flame.
▪ I love those ones where there's a piece of cloth just with a safety pin or something like that.
▪ Later the gadget acquired a popular name - the safety pin - and made some one else very rich.
▪ The maroon dress was neatly folded, and the coral necklace carefully pinned to the bodice with a large safety pin.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Safety pin

Safety chain \Safety chain\

  1. (Railroads) A normally slack chain for preventing excessive movement between a truck and a car body in sluing.

  2. An auxiliary watch chain, secured to the clothes, usually out of sight, to prevent stealing of the watch.

  3. A chain of sheet metal links with an elongated hole through each broad end, made up by doubling the first link on itself, slipping the next link through and doubling, and so on.

    Safety arch (Arch.), a discharging arch. See under Discharge, v. t.

    Safety belt, a belt made of some buoyant material, or which is capable of being inflated, so as to enable a person to float in water; a life preserver.

    Safety buoy, a buoy to enable a person to float in water; a safety belt.

    Safety cage (Mach.), a cage for an elevator or mine lift, having appliances to prevent it from dropping if the lifting rope should break.

    Safety lamp. (Mining) See under Lamp.

    Safety match, a match which can be ignited only on a surface specially prepared for the purpose.

    Safety pin, a pin made in the form of a clasp, with a guard covering its point so that it will not prick the wearer.

    Safety plug. See Fusible plug, under Fusible.

    Safety switch. See Switch.

    Safety touchdown (Football), the act or result of a player's touching to the ground behind his own goal line a ball which received its last impulse from a man on his own side; -- distinguished from touchback. See Touchdown. Same as safety

    Safety tube (Chem.), a tube to prevent explosion, or to control delivery of gases by an automatic valvular connection with the outer air; especially, a bent funnel tube with bulbs for adding those reagents which produce unpleasant fumes or violent effervescence.

    Safety valve, a valve which is held shut by a spring or weight and opens automatically to permit the escape of steam, or confined gas, water, etc., from a boiler, or other vessel, when the pressure becomes too great for safety; also, sometimes, a similar valve opening inward to admit air to a vessel in which the pressure is less than that of the atmosphere, to prevent collapse.

Wiktionary
safety pin

n. 1 a pin, in the form of a clasp, that has a guard to cover the sharp point; used to join two pieces of fabric etc together temporarily 2 the pin of a hand grenade that prevents accidental detonation

WordNet
safety pin

n. a pin in the form of a clasp; has a guard so the point of the pin will not stick the user

Wikipedia
Safety pin

The safety pin is a variation of the regular pin which includes a simple spring mechanism and a clasp. The clasp serves two purposes: to form a closed loop thereby properly fastening the pin to whatever it is applied to, and to cover the end of the pin to protect the user from the sharp point.

Safety pins are commonly used to fasten pieces of fabric or clothing together. Safety pins, or more usually a special version with an extra safe cover, called a nappy pin are widely used to fasten cloth diapers (nappies), as the safety clasp prevents the baby from being jabbed. Similarly, they can be used to patch torn or damaged clothing. Safety pins can also be used as an accessory in jewelry, like earrings, chains, and wristbands. Sometimes they are used to attach an embroidered patch. Size 3 is often used in quilting and may be labelled for purchase as a "quilting pin". Size 4 and larger may be called "blanket pins" and deemed acceptable as kilt pins for informal dress, depending upon design and appearance.