needlenoseadj.n.
/ˈniːdlˌnəʊz/, U.S. /ˈnid(ə)lˌnoʊz/ North American.
A. adj. (attributive).
Of a tool, piece of machinery, etc.: tapering to a needle-like point; spec. designating a pair of pliers having long, pointed jaws, used esp. for manipulating electrical wires in tight spaces.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > fact or condition of tapering > condition of tapering to a point > [adjective] > having (a) point(s)
piked?a1300
pickedc1450
needle-pointed1565
thorny-pointed1594
long-nebbed1649
fitchy1650
cuspidated1668
spit-pointed1796
pin-pointed1859
needlenose1911
1911 Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co. Mech. Handy List (ed. 4) 105 Needle Nose Pliers... Long Straight Nose. Lap Joint.
1947 Shell Aviation News No. 112. 6/3 Republic is building a fighter aircraft with a needle-nose shock cone to permit supersonic speed.
1964 P. K. Dick in Amazing Stories July 100/1 Hoagland closed the switch with his needle-nose pliers, set the figurine down on his workbench and waited.
1989 C. Hiaasen Skin Tight (1990) xxxiv. 365 The women were weary of shouting and waving for help, but they tried once more when a red needlenose speedboat rounded the point of the island.
1997 Courier-Jrnl. (Louisville, Kentucky) 20 Dec. d1/5 Use a knife or needle-nose pliers to split the end of the cord about 3 inches, separating the two wires.
B. n.
A sharply pointed nose-cone on an aircraft, etc.
ΚΠ
1953 R. A. Heinlein Starman Jones i. 4 A shining cylinder with needle nose burst out of the cut, flashed through the last ring and for a breathless moment was in free trajectory between the ridges.
1998 GQ Aug. 116/1 On the tip of the red needle nose of Michael Schumacher's Ferrari grand prix car there is a small, rectangular enamel badge.
2000 Chicago Tribune 1 Sept. i. 15 Air France Flight 4590, a supersonic Concorde, had just lifted its needle nose skyward after roaring down the runway.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.1911