pin vs wire

pin

verb
  • To fasten or attach (something) with a pin. 

  • To attach (an icon, application, message etc.) to another item so that it persists. 

  • To cause an analog gauge to reach the stop pin at the high end of the range. 

  • To enclose; to confine; to pen; to pound. 

  • To fix (an array in memory, a security certificate, etc.) so that it cannot be modified. 

  • To cause (a piece) to be in a pin. 

  • To pin down (someone). 

noun
  • A piece of jewellery that is attached to clothing with a pin. 

  • The spot at the exact centre of the target, originally a literal pin that fastened the target in place. 

  • A cylinder often of wood or metal used to fasten or as a bearing between two parts. 

  • A simple accessory that can be attached to clothing with a pin or fastener, often round and bearing a design, logo or message, and used for decoration, identification or to show political affiliation, etc. 

  • Any of the individual connecting elements of a multipole electrical connector. 

  • The flagstick: the flag-bearing pole which marks the location of a hole 

  • A peg in musical instruments for increasing or relaxing the tension of the strings. 

  • A thing of small value; a trifle. 

  • A size of brewery cask, equal to half a firkin, or eighth of a barrel. 

  • A pinball machine. 

  • One of a row of pegs in the side of an ancient drinking cup to mark how much each person should drink. 

  • The spot at the exact centre of the house (the target area) 

  • A short shaft, sometimes forming a bolt, a part of which serves as a journal. 

  • The victory condition of holding the opponent's shoulders on the wrestling mat for a prescribed period of time. 

  • A needle without an eye (usually) made of drawn-out steel wire with one end sharpened and the other flattened or rounded into a head, used for fastening. 

  • Either a scenario in which moving a lesser piece to escape from attack would expose a more valuable piece to being taken instead, or one where moving a piece is impossible as it would place the king in check. 

  • The tenon of a dovetail joint. 

  • A small cylindrical object which blocks the rotation of a pin-tumbler lock when the incorrect key is inserted. 

  • A small nail with a head and a sharp point. 

  • A slender object specially designed for use in a specific game or sport, such as skittles or bowling. 

  • A leg. 

wire

verb
  • To fasten with wire, especially with reference to wine bottles, corks, or fencing. 

  • To send a message or monetary funds to another person through a telecommunications system, formerly predominantly by telegraph. 

  • To place (a ball) so that the wire of a wicket prevents a successful shot. 

  • To set or predetermine (someone's personality or behaviour, or an organization's culture) in a particular way. 

  • To string on a wire. 

  • To add (something) into a system (especially an electrical system) by means of wiring. 

  • To snare by means of a wire or wires. 

  • To install eavesdropping equipment. 

  • To make someone tense or psyched up. See also adjective wired. 

  • To connect, involve or embed (something) deeply or intimately into (something else, such as an organization or political scene), so that it is plugged in (to that thing) (“keeping up with current information about (the thing)”) or has insinuated itself into (the thing). 

  • To add or connect (something) into a system as if with wires (for example, with nerves). 

  • To equip with wires for use with electricity. 

noun
  • Any of the system of wires used to operate the puppets in a puppet show; hence, the network of hidden influences controlling the action of a person or organization; strings. 

  • A piece of such material; a thread or slender rod of metal, a cable. 

  • A knitting needle. 

  • Metal formed into a thin, even thread, now usually by being drawn through a hole in a steel die. 

  • A telecommunication wire or cable. 

  • An electric telegraph; a telegram. 

  • A hidden listening device on the person of an undercover operative for the purposes of obtaining incriminating spoken evidence. 

  • A fence made of usually barbed wire. 

  • A deadline or critical endpoint. 

  • A metal conductor that carries electricity. 

  • A finish line of a racetrack. 

  • A wire strung with beads and hung horizontally above or near the table which is used to keep score. 

  • The slender shaft of the plumage of certain birds. 

  • A covert signal sent between people cheating in a card game. 

How often have the words pin and wire occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )