Definition of pricking:
(n) :
The act of piercing or puncturing with a sharp point.
(n) :
(figurative) A sensation that pricks, or causes sharp emotional pain.
(n) :
The driving of a nail into a horse's foot so as to produce lameness.
(n) :
The act of tracing a hare by its footmarks.
(n) :
(mining) A nicking.
(n) :
(obsolete) Dressing oneself for show; prinking.