pin vs tack

pin

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

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

  • A leg. 

verb
  • 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). 

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

tack

noun
  • A small nail with a flat head. 

  • The distance a sailing vessel runs between these maneuvers when working to windward; a board. 

  • A rope used to hold in place the foremost lower corners of the courses when the vessel is close-hauled; also, a rope employed to pull the lower corner of a studding sail to the boom. 

  • Any of the various equipment and accessories worn by horses in the course of their use as domesticated animals. 

  • The maneuver by which a sailing vessel turns its bow through the wind so that the wind changes from one side to the other. 

  • A contract by which the use of a thing is set, or let, for hire; a lease. 

  • The stickiness of a compound, related to its cohesive and adhesive properties. 

  • That which is tacky; something cheap and gaudy. 

  • A stain; a tache. 

  • That which is attached; a supplement; an appendix. 

  • A direction or course of action, especially a new one. 

  • A course or heading that enables a sailing vessel to head upwind. 

  • Food generally; fare, especially of the bread kind. 

  • A loose seam used to temporarily fasten pieces of cloth. 

  • A thumbtack. 

  • The lower corner on the leading edge of a sail relative to the direction of the wind. 

verb
  • To nail with a tack (small nail with a flat head). 

  • To maneuver a sailing vessel so that its bow turns through the wind, i.e. the wind changes from one side of the vessel to the other. 

  • To add something as an extra item. 

  • To sew/stitch with a tack (loose seam used to temporarily fasten pieces of cloth). 

  • to tack (something) onto (something) 

  • To place the tack on a horse; often paired with "up". 

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