pain in the neck

/peɪn ɪn ðə nɛk/

/peɪn ɪn ðə nɛk/

Other forms: pains in the neck

A pain in the neck is any kind of annoyance or source of grief. A dead car battery can be a pain in the neck, and so can your nosy neighbor.

Have you ever had a literal pain in your neck? If so, you know how bothersome it can be, ruining your sleep and making the whole day unpleasant. When a person or problem is called a pain in the neck, it's because they're similarly bothersome. A lazy employee is a pain in the neck for the boss. A noisy student is a pain in the neck for a teacher. Difficult homework is a pain in the neck for students.

Definitions of pain in the neck

1. noun

   something or someone that causes trouble; a source of unhappiness
   synonyms: annoyance, bother, botheration, infliction, pain

   types:

   nuisance

   (law) a broad legal concept including anything that disturbs the reasonable use of your property or endangers life and health or is offensive

   irritant, thorn

   something that causes irritation and annoyance

   plague

   an annoyance

   abatable nuisance

   a nuisance that can remedied (suppressed or extinguished or rendered harmless)

   attractive nuisance

   anything on your premises that might attract children into danger or harm

   mixed nuisance

   a nuisance that is both a public nuisance and a private nuisance at the same time

   private nuisance

   a nuisance that interferes with your interest in and private use and enjoyment of your land

   common nuisance, public nuisance

   a nuisance that unreasonably interferes with a right that is common to the general public

   type of:

   negative stimulus

   a stimulus with undesirable consequences
2. noun

   a bothersome annoying person
   synonyms: nuisance, pain

   type of:

   disagreeable person, unpleasant person

   a person who is not pleasant or agreeable