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Definition of pinch - 8 dictionary results

pinch

  [pinch]
Use pinch in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to squeeze or compress between the finger and thumb, the teeth, the jaws of an instrument, or the like.
2. to constrict or squeeze painfully, as a tight shoe does.
3. to cramp within narrow bounds or quarters: The crowd pinched him into a corner.
4. to render (the face, body, etc.) unnaturally constricted or drawn, as pain or distress does: Years of hardship had pinched her countenance beyond recognition.
5. Horticulture. to remove or shorten (buds or shoots) in order to produce a certain shape of the plant, improve the quality of the bloom or fruit, or increase the development of buds (often fol. by out, off, or back).
6. to affect with sharp discomfort or distress, as cold, hunger, or need does.
7. to straiten in means or circumstances: The depression pinched them.
8. to stint (a person, family, etc.) in allowance of money, food, or the like: They were severely pinched by the drought.
9. to hamper or inconvenience by the lack of something specified: The builders were pinched by the shortage of good lumber.
10. to stint the supply or amount of (a thing).
11. to put a pinch or small quantity of (a powder, spice, etc.) into something.
12. Slang.
a. to steal.
b. to arrest.
13. to roll or slide (a heavy object) with leverage from a pinch bar.
14. Nautical. to sail (a ship) so close to the wind that the sails shake slightly and the speed is reduced.
15. Horse Racing, British. to press (a horse) to the point of exhaustion.
–verb (used without object)
16. to exert a sharp or painful constricting force: This shoe pinches.
17. to cause sharp discomfort or distress: Their stomachs were pinched with hunger.
18. to economize unduly; stint oneself: They pinched and scraped for years to save money for a car.
19. Mining. (of a vein of ore or the like)
a. to diminish.
b. to diminish to nothing (sometimes fol. by out).
20. Nautical. to trim a sail too flat when sailing to windward.
–noun
21. the act of pinching; nip; squeeze.
22. as much of anything as can be taken up between the finger and thumb: a pinch of salt.
23. a very small quantity of anything: a pinch of pungent wit.
24. sharp or painful stress, as of hunger, need, or any trying circumstances: the pinch of conscience; to feel the pinch of poverty.
25. a situation or time of special stress, esp. an emergency: A friend is someone who will stand by you in a pinch.
26. pinch bar.
27. Slang. a raid or an arrest.
28. Slang. a theft.
—Idioms
29. pinch pennies, to stint on or be frugal or economical with expenditures; economize: I'll have to pinch pennies if I'm going to get through school.
30. with a pinch of salt. grain (def. 27).
Origin:
1250–1300; ME pinchen < AF *pinchier (equiv. to OF pincier, Sp pinchar) < VL *pīnctiāre, var. of *pūnctiāre to prick (cf. pique 1 )

Related forms:
pinch⋅a⋅ble, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To pinch
pinch   (pĭnch)   
v.   pinched, pinch·ing, pinch·es

v.   tr.
  1. To squeeze between the thumb and a finger, the jaws of a tool, or other edges.
  2. To squeeze or bind (a part of the body) in a way that causes discomfort or pain: These shoes pinch my toes.
  3. To nip, wither, or shrivel: buds that were pinched by the frost; a face that was pinched with grief.
  4. To straiten: "A year and a half of the blockade has pinched Germany" (William L. Shirer).
  5. Slang To take (money or property) unlawfully. See Synonyms at steal.
  6. Slang To take into custody; arrest.
  7. To move (something) with a pinch bar.
  8. Nautical To sail (a boat) so close into the wind that its sails shiver and its speed is reduced.
v.   intr.
  1. To press, squeeze, or bind painfully: This collar pinches.
  2. To be miserly.
  3. Nautical To drag an oar at the end of a stroke.
n.  
  1. The act or an instance of pinching.
  2. An amount that can be held between thumb and forefinger: a pinch of salt.
  3. A painful, difficult, or straitened circumstance: felt the pinch of the recession.
  4. An emergency situation: This coat will do in a pinch.
  5. A narrowing of a mineral deposit, as in a mine.
  6. Informal A theft.
  7. Slang An arrest by a law enforcement officer.
adj.   Baseball
Relating to pinch-hitting or pinch runners: a pinch single; a pinch steal of third base.

[Middle English pinchen, from Old North French *pinchier, variant of Old French pincier, perhaps from Vulgar Latin *pīnctiāre.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Pinch

Pinch\, v. t. To seize by way of theft; to steal; also, to catch; to arrest. [Slang] --Robert Barr.

Pinch

Pinch\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pinched; p. pr. & vb. n. Pinching.] [F. pincer, probably fr. OD. pitsen to pinch; akin to G. pfetzen to cut, pinch; perhaps of Celtic origin. Cf. Piece.]

1. To press hard or squeeze between the ends of the fingers, between teeth or claws, or between the jaws of an instrument; to squeeze or compress, as between any two hard bodies.

2. o seize; to grip; to bite; -- said of animals. [Obs.]

He [the hound] pinched and pulled her down. --Chapman.

3. To plait. [Obs.]

Full seemly her wimple ipinched was. --Chaucer.

4. Figuratively: To cramp; to straiten; to oppress; to starve; to distress; as, to be pinched for money.

Want of room . . . pinching a whole nation. --Sir W. Raleigh.

5. To move, as a railroad car, by prying the wheels with a pinch. See Pinch, n., 4.

Pinch

Pinch\, v. i. 1. To act with pressing force; to compress; to squeeze; as, the shoe pinches.

2. (Hunt.) To take hold; to grip, as a dog does. [Obs.]

3. To spare; to be niggardly; to be covetous. --Gower.

The wretch whom avarice bids to pinch and spare. --Franklin.

To pinch at, to find fault with; to take exception to. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

Pinch

Pinch\, n. 1. A close compression, as with the ends of the fingers, or with an instrument; a nip.

2. As much as may be taken between the finger and thumb; any very small quantity; as, a pinch of snuff.

3. Pian; pang. "Necessary's sharp pinch." --Shak.

4. A lever having a projection at one end, acting as a fulcrum, -- used chiefly to roll heavy wheels, etc. Called also pinch bar.

At a pinch, On a pinch, in an emergency; as, he could on a pinch read a little Latin.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : pinch
Spanish: pellizcar,
German: zwicken,
Japanese: つねる
More Translations »

pinch  (v.)
c.1230, from O.N.Fr. *pinchier, var. of O.Fr. pincier, possibly from V.L. *punctiare "to pierce" (from L. punctum "point"), and *piccare "to pierce." Meaning "to steal" is from 1656. Sense of "to be stingy" is recorded from early 14c. Noun meaning "critical juncture" (as in baseball pinch hitter, attested from 1912) is from 1489; older than the literal sense of "act of pinching" (1591).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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pinch

In addition to the idioms beginning with pinch, also see feel the pinch; in a pinch; with a grain (pinch) of salt.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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