pinch

1 of 3

verb

pinched; pinching; pinches

transitive verb

1
a
: to squeeze between the finger and thumb or between the jaws of an instrument
b
: to prune the tip of (a plant or shoot) usually to induce branching
c
: to squeeze or compress painfully
d
: to cause physical or mental pain to
e(1)
: to cause to appear thin, haggard, or shrunken
(2)
: to cause to shrivel or wither
2
a
: to subject to strict economy or want : straiten
b
: to restrain or limit narrowly : constrict
3
a
: steal
b
: arrest
4
: to sail too close to the wind

intransitive verb

1
2
: to be miserly or closefisted
3
: to press painfully
4
: narrow, taper
the road pinched down to a trailCecelia Holland

pinch

2 of 3

noun

1
a
: a critical juncture : emergency
c
2
a
: an act of pinching : squeeze
b
: as much as may be taken between the finger and thumb
a pinch of snuff
c
: a very small amount
3
: a marked thinning of a vein or bed
4
a
: theft
b
: a police raid
also : arrest

pinch

3 of 3

adjective

1
: substitute
pinch runner
2
: hit by a pinch hitter
a pinch homer
Phrases
pinch pennies
: to practice strict economy
Choose the Right Synonym for pinch

juncture, exigency, emergency, contingency, pinch, strait (or straits) crisis mean a critical or crucial time or state of affairs.

juncture stresses the significant concurrence or convergence of events.

an important juncture in our country's history

exigency stresses the pressure of restrictions or urgency of demands created by a special situation.

provide for exigencies

emergency applies to a sudden unforeseen situation requiring prompt action to avoid disaster.

the presence of mind needed to deal with emergencies

contingency implies an emergency or exigency that is regarded as possible but uncertain of occurrence.

contingency plans

pinch implies urgency or pressure for action to a less intense degree than exigency or emergency.

come through in a pinch

strait, now commonly straits, applies to a troublesome situation from which escape is extremely difficult.

in dire straits

crisis applies to a juncture whose outcome will make a decisive difference.

a crisis of confidence

Examples of pinch in a Sentence

Verb My little brother is always trying to pinch me. He pinched her cheeks and told her how cute she was. Pinch together the edges of the dough. He pinched the top of his nose to stop the bleeding and leaned forward. He pinched off the top of the shoots. She pinched back the new growth. These new shoes are pinching my toes. I pinched my fingers in the door. By pinching and scraping, she managed to save enough money to buy a new car. Noun the pinch of my favorite sweater really bugged me! an innocent person caught up in a city-wide pinch of drug dealers Adjective A pinch homer won the game.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Average wages have risen faster than prices over the last year, but many families remain pinched. David Lauter, Los Angeles Times, 22 Mar. 2024 Why do people get pinched on St. Patrick's Day? Americans may also be behind this St. Patrick's Day tradition. Katie Wiseman, The Indianapolis Star, 14 Mar. 2024 Available in sizes 14 through 24, the baggy jeans come in two washes and are made to sit low on the hips without digging or pinching into your waist. Jessie Quinn, Peoplemag, 13 Mar. 2024 Inflation and rising interest rates are pinching urban consumers Inflation is vexing consumers in several cities that sit near the top of the new WalletHub ranking, researchers said. USA TODAY, 2 Mar. 2024 Yes, the green one is the worst of them all because there are many valid ways to pinch it with the gripper and lift it up. IEEE Spectrum, 12 Feb. 2024 There’s a length-wide trackpad embedded for pinching and scrolling, as well as the requisite connection ports. Florence Ion / Gizmodo, Quartz, 26 Feb. 2024 The changes are expected to pinch Apple’s sales and cut into profits. Tripp Mickle, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2024 But there’s still economic pain: Inflation, which remains above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, is still pinching Americans. Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2024
Noun
And a good pinch of sugar helps everything caramelize in a pan or the oven. Ali Francis, Bon Appétit, 17 Mar. 2024 The surface of our blue planet was a molten magma ocean at the time, and its pre-life atmosphere consisted of a pinch of nitrogen and a pouring of heat-trapping carbon dioxide; truly a hell on Earth. Max Bennett, Discover Magazine, 11 Mar. 2024 Uno Flip makes the beloved game just a pinch more complicated—in a way every age group can enjoy—by adding a second set of colors and numbers on the flip side of each card. Stephanie Osmanski, Southern Living, 9 Mar. 2024 The federal judge who oversaw a New York defamation trial that resulted in an $83.3 million award to a longtime magazine columnist who says Donald Trump raped her in the 1990s refused Thursday to relieve the ex-president from the verdict’s financial pinch. Larry Neumeister, Fortune, 8 Mar. 2024 The widening war in the middle east is delivering an economic pinch to the UK, a country already in a technical recession. Simon Constable, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024 Jinan told me that mothers have been feeding their children green leaves cooked with tomato paste and a pinch of rice. Zaina Arafat, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024 In truth, there are actually six ingredients: ½ cup of popcorn kernels, 3 tablespoons of cooking oil, one bag of mini marshmallows, ½ cup of butter, a cap-full of vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. Blake Bakkila, Sunset Magazine, 7 Mar. 2024 Byrd, now a sophomore, came into the game in the 8th inning as a pinch hitter and was walked and eventually replaced by a pinch runner. Stephanie Gallman Jordan, Southern Living, 7 Mar. 2024
Adjective
Pinch runner Tony Kemp was then stranded at third, emblematic of Oakland’s offensive frustrations, as Ramón Laureano struck out, Canha walked, Olson popped up and pinch-hitter Robbie Grossman struck out against Casey Sadler. Susan Slusser, SFChronicle.com, 26 Sep. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pinch.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French *pincher, pincer

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

1912, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of pinch was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near pinch

Cite this Entry

“Pinch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pinch. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

pinch

1 of 2 verb
1
a
: to squeeze between the finger and thumb or between the jaws of an instrument
b
: to nip off (a bud) to control flowering or prune the tip of (a young shoot) to cause branching
c
: to squeeze painfully
2
: to cause to appear thin, haggard, or shrunken
a face pinched with cold
3
a
: to be thrifty or stingy
b
: to restrain or limit narrowly
4
5
b
: to sharply reduce the length or quantity of

pinch

2 of 2 noun
1
a
: a critical time or point : emergency
help out in a pinch
b
: painful pressure or stress
the pinch of hunger
2
a
: an act of pinching
b
: as much as may be taken between the finger and thumb
a pinch of salt
c
: a small amount
3
a
: theft
b
: a police raid

Medical Definition

pinch

transitive verb
: to squeeze or compress (a part of the body) usually in a painful or discomforting way
a pinched nerve caused by entrapment

More from Merriam-Webster on pinch

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