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pinch

(pĭnch)

v. pinched, pinch·ing, pinch·es

v.tr.

1. To squeeze (something) between the thumb and a finger, the jaws of a tool, or other edges.

2. To cause pain or discomfort to (a part of the body) by pressing or being too tight: 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 cause to be in difficulty or financial distress: "A year and a half of the blockade has pinched Germany" (William L. Shirer).

5. Slang To take (money or property) wrongfully. 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 draw a thumb and a finger together on a touchscreen to cause the image to become smaller.

3. To be frugal or miserly: If we pinch, we might save some money.

4. Nautical To drag an oar at the end of a stroke.

1. The act or an instance of pinching.

2. An amount that can be held between thumb and forefinger: a pinch of salt.

3. Difficulty or hardship: 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.

Idiom:

pinch pennies Informal

To be thrifty or miserly.

[Middle English pinchen, from Old North French *pinchier, variant of Old French pincer; akin to Italian pinzare, to sting, and Spanish pinchar, to prick, sting, all derived from a Romance imitative root *pints- expressive of pinching or pricking.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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