Pinch Definition

pĭnch
pinched, pinches, pinching
verb
pinched, pinches, pinching
To squeeze between a finger and the thumb or between two surfaces, edges, etc.
Webster's New World
To be stingy or niggardly.
Webster's New World
To nip off the end of (a plant shoot), as for controlling bud development.
Webster's New World
To press painfully upon (some part of the body)
Webster's New World
To nip, wither, or shrivel.
Buds that were pinched by the frost; a face that was pinched with grief.
American Heritage
Antonyms:
noun
pinches
A pinching; squeeze or nip.
Webster's New World
The quantity that may be grasped between the finger and thumb.
Webster's New World
A small amount.
Webster's New World
Distress; hardship; difficulty.
Webster's New World
An emergency; urgent situation or time.
Webster's New World
adjective
Of or having to do with a substitute hitter or runner.
Webster's New World
idiom
pinch pennies
  • To be thrifty or miserly.
American Heritage
pinch pennies
  • to be very frugal or economical
Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Pinch

Noun

Singular:
pinch
Plural:
pinches

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Pinch

Origin of Pinch

  • From Middle English pinchen, from Anglo-Norman *pinchier (compare Old French pincer, pincier (“to pinch, find fault")), from Vulgar Latin *pincāre, a nasalised variant of Vulgar Latin *piccāre (“to pick, pierce"), from Frankish *pikkōn, from Proto-Germanic *pikōnÄ…, *pukanÄ… (“to pick, peck, prick, knock"), from Proto-Indo-European *beu-, *bu- (“to make a dull sound"). Cognate with Old English pȳcan, pician (“to pick, pluck"), Old Norse pikka (“to prick, peck"), Middle Dutch and Middle Low German picken (“to pick, peck, pierce"), German pochen (“to knock, pound, thump"). More at pick.

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English pinchen from Old North French pinchier variant of Old French pincier perhaps from Vulgar Latin pīnctiāre

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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