pinch
/pɪnt͡ʃ/ verb, noun
Forms pinches pinching pinched
- verb To squeeze a small amount of a person's skin and flesh, making it hurt. “The children were scolded for pinching each other.”
- verb To squeeze between the thumb and forefinger.
- verb To squeeze between two objects.
- verb (intransitive) Of clothing, to be uncomfortably tight in specific spots.
- verb (slang, transitive) To steal, usually something inconsequential. “Someone has pinched my handkerchief!”
- verb (slang, transitive) To arrest or capture.
- verb (horticulture) To cut shoots or buds of a plant in order to shape the plant, or to improve its yield.
- verb (nautical) To sail so close-hauled that the sails begin to flutter.
- noun The action of squeezing a small amount of a person's skin and flesh, making it hurt.
- noun A close compression of anything with the fingers. “I gave the leather of the sofa a pinch, gauging the texture.”
- noun A small amount of powder or granules, such that the amount could be held between fingertip and thumb tip. “Mix about four cups of white flour with a pinch of salt.”
- noun An awkward situation of some kind (especially money or social) which is difficult to escape.
- noun A metal bar used as a lever for lifting weights, rolling wheels, etc.
- noun An organic herbal smoke additive.
- noun (physics) A magnetic compression of an electrically conducting filament.
- noun The narrow part connecting the two bulbs of an hourglass.
Synonyms
crib purloin steal abduct abstract appropriate bag bandit bash and grab bone boost burgle burglarize borrow cheat chore commandeer confiscate convert cop touch hint tinge mite jot speck soupcon emergency exigency nip
Etymology
From Middle English pinchen, from Old Northern French *pinchier (compare Old French pincier, pincer (“to pinch”)), a word of uncertain origin, possibly from Vulgar Latin *pinciāre (“to puncture, pinch”), from a merger of *punctiāre (“to puncture, sting”), from Latin punctiō (“a puncture, prick”) and *piccāre (“to strike, sting”), from Frankish *pikkōn, from Proto-Germanic *pikkōną (“to pick, peck, prick”). More at point, pick and pitch.
Webster’s 1913
- verb 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.
- verb o seize; to grip; to bite; --said of animals. [Obs.]
- verb To act with pressing force; to compress; to squeeze; as, the shoe pinches."
- verb To take hold; to grip, as a dog does. [Obs.]
Etymology [F. pincer, probably fr. OD. pitsen to pinch; akin to G. pfetzen to cut, pinch; perhaps of Celtic origin. Cf. Piece.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “pinch”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details