Definitions for pinch
pɪntʃpinch

Princeton's WordNet(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. pinchnoun

   a painful or straitened circumstance

   "the pinch of the recession"

2. pinchnoun

   an injury resulting from getting some body part squeezed

3. touch, hint, tinge, mite, pinch, jot, speck, soupconnoun

   a slight but appreciable amount

   "this dish could use a touch of garlic"

4. emergency, exigency, pinchnoun

   a sudden unforeseen crisis (usually involving danger) that requires immediate action

   "he never knew what to do in an emergency"

5. nip, pinchnoun

   a small sharp bite or snip

6. pinch, tweaknoun

   a squeeze with the fingers

7. apprehension, arrest, catch, collar, pinch, taking into custodyverb

   the act of apprehending (especially apprehending a criminal)

   "the policeman on the beat got credit for the collar"

8. pinch, squeeze, twinge, tweet, nip, twitchverb

   squeeze tightly between the fingers

   "He pinched her behind"; "She squeezed the bottle"

9. crimp, pinchverb

   make ridges into by pinching together

10. pilfer, cabbage, purloin, pinch, abstract, snarf, swipe, hook, sneak, filch, nobble, liftverb

    make off with belongings of others

11. top, pinchverb

    cut the top off

    "top trees and bushes"

12. pinch, vellicateverb

    irritate as if by a nip, pinch, or tear

    "smooth surfaces can vellicate the teeth"; "the pain is as if sharp points pinch your back"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. pinchnoun

   The action of squeezing a small amount of a person's skin and flesh, making it hurt.

   Etymology: From pinchen, from * (compare pincer, pincier), from *, a nasalised variant of *, of origin, from Old *, from pikōnan, from beu-. Cognate with pycan, pician, pikka, and picken, pochen. More at pick.

2. pinchnoun

   A small amount of powder or granules, such that the amount could be held between fingertip and thumb tip.

   Etymology: From pinchen, from * (compare pincer, pincier), from *, a nasalised variant of *, of origin, from Old *, from pikōnan, from beu-. Cognate with pycan, pician, pikka, and picken, pochen. More at pick.

3. pinchnoun

   An awkward situation of some kind (especially money or social) which is difficult to escape.

   Etymology: From pinchen, from * (compare pincer, pincier), from *, a nasalised variant of *, of origin, from Old *, from pikōnan, from beu-. Cognate with pycan, pician, pikka, and picken, pochen. More at pick.

4. pinchnoun

   An organic herbal smoke additive.

   Etymology: From pinchen, from * (compare pincer, pincier), from *, a nasalised variant of *, of origin, from Old *, from pikōnan, from beu-. Cognate with pycan, pician, pikka, and picken, pochen. More at pick.

5. pinchverb

   To squeeze a small amount of a person's skin and flesh, making it hurt.

   Etymology: From pinchen, from * (compare pincer, pincier), from *, a nasalised variant of *, of origin, from Old *, from pikōnan, from beu-. Cognate with pycan, pician, pikka, and picken, pochen. More at pick.

6. pinchverb

   To steal, usually of something almost trivial or inconsequential.

   Etymology: From pinchen, from * (compare pincer, pincier), from *, a nasalised variant of *, of origin, from Old *, from pikōnan, from beu-. Cognate with pycan, pician, pikka, and picken, pochen. More at pick.

7. pinchverb

   To arrest or capture.

   Etymology: From pinchen, from * (compare pincer, pincier), from *, a nasalised variant of *, of origin, from Old *, from pikōnan, from beu-. Cognate with pycan, pician, pikka, and picken, pochen. More at pick.

8. pinchverb

   To cut shoots or buds of a plant in order to shape the plant, or to improve its yield.

   Etymology: From pinchen, from * (compare pincer, pincier), from *, a nasalised variant of *, of origin, from Old *, from pikōnan, from beu-. Cognate with pycan, pician, pikka, and picken, pochen. More at pick.

9. pinchverb

   To sail so close-hauled that the sails begin to flutter.

   Etymology: From pinchen, from * (compare pincer, pincier), from *, a nasalised variant of *, of origin, from Old *, from pikōnan, from beu-. Cognate with pycan, pician, pikka, and picken, pochen. More at pick.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Pinchverb

   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

   Etymology: [F. pincer, probably fr. OD. pitsen to pinch; akin to G. pfetzen to cut, pinch; perhaps of Celtic origin. Cf. Piece.]

2. Pinchverb

   o seize; to grip; to bite; -- said of animals

   Etymology: [F. pincer, probably fr. OD. pitsen to pinch; akin to G. pfetzen to cut, pinch; perhaps of Celtic origin. Cf. Piece.]

3. Pinchverb

   to plait

   Etymology: [F. pincer, probably fr. OD. pitsen to pinch; akin to G. pfetzen to cut, pinch; perhaps of Celtic origin. Cf. Piece.]

4. Pinchverb

   figuratively: To cramp; to straiten; to oppress; to starve; to distress; as, to be pinched for money

   Etymology: [F. pincer, probably fr. OD. pitsen to pinch; akin to G. pfetzen to cut, pinch; perhaps of Celtic origin. Cf. Piece.]

5. Pinchverb

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

   Etymology: [F. pincer, probably fr. OD. pitsen to pinch; akin to G. pfetzen to cut, pinch; perhaps of Celtic origin. Cf. Piece.]

6. Pinchverb

   to act with pressing force; to compress; to squeeze; as, the shoe pinches

   Etymology: [F. pincer, probably fr. OD. pitsen to pinch; akin to G. pfetzen to cut, pinch; perhaps of Celtic origin. Cf. Piece.]

7. Pinchverb

   to take hold; to grip, as a dog does

   Etymology: [F. pincer, probably fr. OD. pitsen to pinch; akin to G. pfetzen to cut, pinch; perhaps of Celtic origin. Cf. Piece.]

8. Pinchverb

   to spare; to be niggardly; to be covetous

   Etymology: [F. pincer, probably fr. OD. pitsen to pinch; akin to G. pfetzen to cut, pinch; perhaps of Celtic origin. Cf. Piece.]

9. Pinchnoun

   a close compression, as with the ends of the fingers, or with an instrument; a nip

   Etymology: [F. pincer, probably fr. OD. pitsen to pinch; akin to G. pfetzen to cut, pinch; perhaps of Celtic origin. Cf. Piece.]

10. Pinchnoun

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

    Etymology: [F. pincer, probably fr. OD. pitsen to pinch; akin to G. pfetzen to cut, pinch; perhaps of Celtic origin. Cf. Piece.]

11. Pinchnoun

    pian; pang

    Etymology: [F. pincer, probably fr. OD. pitsen to pinch; akin to G. pfetzen to cut, pinch; perhaps of Celtic origin. Cf. Piece.]

12. Pinchnoun

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

    Etymology: [F. pincer, probably fr. OD. pitsen to pinch; akin to G. pfetzen to cut, pinch; perhaps of Celtic origin. Cf. Piece.]

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Pinch

   A pinch is the compression of an electrically conducting filament by magnetic forces. The conductor is usually a plasma, but could also be a solid or liquid metal. In a z-pinch, the current is axial and the magnetic field azimuthal; in a theta-pinch, the current is azimuthal and the magnetic field is axial. The phenomenon may also be referred to as a "Bennett pinch", "electromagnetic pinch", "magnetic pinch", "pinch effect" or "plasma pinch". Pinches occur naturally in electrical discharges such as lightning bolts, the aurora, current sheets, and solar flares. They are also produced in the laboratory, primarily for research into fusion power.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Pinch

   pinsh, v.t. to grip hard: to squeeze between two hard or firm substances: to squeeze the flesh so as to give pain: to nip: to distress: to gripe.—v.i. to act with force: to bear or press hard: to live sparingly.—n. a close compression with the fingers: what can be taken up between the finger and thumb: an iron bar used as a lever for lifting weights, rolling wheels, &c.: a gripe: distress: oppression.—n. Pinch′commons, a niggard, a miser.—adj. Pinched, having the appearance of being tightly squeezed: hard pressed by want or cold: narrowed in size.—ns. Pinch′er, one who, or that which, pinches; Pinch′ers, Pin′cers, an instrument for gripping anything firmly, esp. for drawing out nails, &c.; Pinch′fist, Pinch′gut Pinch′penny, a niggard.—adv. Pinch′ingly, in a pinching manner.—At a pinch, in a case of necessity; Know where the shoe pinches, to know where the cause of trouble or difficulty is. [O. Fr. pincer; prob. Teut., cf. Dut. pitsen, to pinch.]

Suggested Resources(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. pinch

   Song lyrics by pinch -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by pinch on the Lyrics.com website.

Matched Categories

1. • Bite
   • Clip
   • Crisis
   • Difficulty
   • Fold
   • Injury
   • Prune
   • Small Indefinite Quantity
   • Squeeze
   • Steal

How to pronounce pinch?

1. Alex

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

How to say pinch in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of pinch in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of pinch in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of pinch in a Sentence

1. Amy Falcone:

   My kids are obsessed with hand sanitizer, it's a part of the school supply list we send home for kids to bring, along with Kleenex. I'd prefer they wash their hands, but I know it will do in a pinch.

2. John Selden:

   He that has not religion to govern his morality, is not a dram better than my mastiff-dog; so long as you stroke him, and please him, and do not pinch him, he will play with you as finely as may be, he is a very good moral mastiff; but if you hurt him, he will fly in your face, and tear out your throat.

3. Grant Kimberley:

   So far, farmers don't feel the pinch directly. But if this lingers on, and we still have billions of bushels in extra supply, this could become more of a 2019 story.

4. Horace:

   He that holds fast the golden mean, And lives contentedly between The little and the great, Feels not the wants that pinch the poor, Nor plagues that haunt the rich man?s door, Embittering all his state.

5. Neil Mellor:

   I try to take all the toing and froing with a pinch of salt, i'm inclined to believe they will make an agreement, maybe not on the day, and find money down the back of the sofa in the meantime.

Images & Illustrations of pinch

Popularity rank by frequency of use