pin-up

noun

A photograph, printed in a magazine or other publication, of a sexually attractive person (often nude or provocatively dressed), and intended to be removed and pinned up on a wall.

“pin-up girl”

Meanings

nounpin-up (plural pin-ups)

plural pin-ups · alternative pinup

  1. A photograph, printed in a magazine or other publication, of a sexually attractive person (often nude or provocatively dressed), and intended to be removed and pinned up on a wall.

    pin-ups on every wall of their dorm room

  2. attributiveoftenThe person so depicted.

    pin-up girl

    1 more example

    Damn, she could be a pin-up, for real.

  3. figurativelyA figurehead, a person who represents an idea, cause, etc.

    She was Nicolas Sarkozy's pin-up for diversity, the first Muslim woman with north African parents to hold a major French government post. But Rachida Dati has now turned on her own party elite with such ferocity that some have suggested she should be expelled from the president's ruling party.

    2011 December 14, Angelique Chrisafis, “Rachida Dati accuses French PM of sexism and elitism”, in Guardian

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna very pretty girl who works as a photographer's model

Broader
photographer's modelwomanadult female

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

Deverbal from pin up, because such a photograph is often extracted from the publication and pinned up on a wall.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian хубаво момиче
  • хубаво момиче (hubavo momiče)person
Chinese Mandarin 海報女郎 /海报女郎, 賽車女郎 /赛车女郎
  • 海報女郎 /海报女郎 (hǎibào nǚláng)person
  • 賽車女郎 /赛车女郎 (sàichē nǚláng)person
Finnish pin-up-kuva, pin-up-tyttö
  • pin-up-kuvaphotograph
  • pin-up-tyttöperson
French pin-up, pin-up
  • pin-upphotograph
  • pin-upperson
German Pin-up, Pin-up-Girl
  • Pin-upphotograph
  • Pin-up-Girlperson
Japanese ピンアップ, ピンナップ
  • ピンアップ (pin'appu)photograph
  • ピンナップ (Pinnappu)photograph
  • グラビア (gurabia)photograph
  • ピンアップガール (pin'appu gāru)person
Polish plakat z nagą modelką, naga modelka
  • plakat z nagą modelkąphotograph
  • naga modelkaperson
Russian пин-а́п, пина́п
  • пин-а́п (pin-áp)photograph
  • пина́п (pináp)photograph
  • фотогра́фия красо́тки (fotográfija krasótki)photograph
  • краса́вчик (krasávčik)person
  • красо́тка (krasótka)person
  • пин-а́п гёрл (pin-áp gjorl)person
Swedish pinuppbild, pinuppa
  • pinuppbildphotograph
  • pinuppaperson
Cite this entry
APA

pin-up. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pin-up

MLA

“pin-up.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pin-up. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pin-up,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pin-up.

Source: pin-up on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.