Definitions for pinch
pɪntʃpinch

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

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"

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. pinchnoun

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

2. pinchnoun

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

3. pinchnoun

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

4. pinchnoun

   An organic herbal smoke additive.

5. pinchverb

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

6. pinchverb

   To steal, usually of something almost trivial or inconsequential.

7. pinchverb

   To arrest or capture.

8. pinchverb

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

9. pinchverb

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

10. 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.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Pinchnoun

   Etymology: pinçon, French, from the verb.

   1. A painful squeeze with the fingers.

   If any straggler from his rank be found,
   A pinch must for the mortal sin compound. Dryden.

   2. A gripe; a pain given.

   There cannot be a pinch in death
   More sharp than this is. William Shakespeare, Cymbeline.

   3. Oppression; distress inflicted.

   Return to her: no, rather I chuse
   To be a comrad with the wolf and owl,
   Necessity’s sharp pinch. William Shakespeare, King Lear.

   A farmer was put to such a pinch in a hard winter, that he was forced to feed his family upon the main stock. Roger L'Estrange.

   4. Difficulty; time of distress.

   A good sure friend is a better help at a pinch, than all the stratagems of a man’s own wit. Francis Bacon.

   The devil helps his servants for a season; but when they come once to a pinch, he leaves ’em in the lurch. Roger L'Estrange.

   The commentators never fail him at a pinch, and must excuse him. Dryden.

   They at a pinch can bribe a vote. Jonathan Swift, Miscellanies.

2. To Pinchverb

   Etymology: pincer, Fr.

   1. To squeeze between the fingers, or with the teeth.

   When the doctor spies his vantage ripe,
   To pinch her by the hand,
   The maid hath given consent to go with him. William Shakespeare.

   2. To hold hard with an instrument.3. To squeeze the flesh till it is pained or livid.

   Thou shalt be pinch’d
   As thick as honey-combs, each pinch more stinging
   Than bees that made them. William Shakespeare, Tempest.

   He would pinch the children in the dark so hard, that he left the print in black and blue. John Arbuthnot, Hist. of J. Bull.

   4. To press between hard bodies.5. To gall; to fret.

   As they pinch one another by the disposition, he cries out, no more. William Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra.

   6. To gripe; to oppress; to straiten.

   Want of room upon the earth pinching a whole nation, begets the remediless war, vexing only some number of particulars, it draws on the arbitrary. Walter Raleigh, Essays.

   She pinch’d her belly with her daughter’s too,
   To bring the year about with much ado. Dryden.

   Nic. Frog would pinch his belly to save his pocket. Arb.

   7. To distress; to pain.

   Avoid the pinching cold and scorching heat. John Milton.

   Afford them shelter from the wintry winds.
   As the sharp year pinches. James Thomson, Autumn.

   8. To press; to drive to difficulties.

   The beaver, when he finds himself hard pinch’d, bites ’em off, and by leaving them to his pursuers, saves himself. Roger L'Estrange.

   When the respondent is pinched with a strong objection, and is at a loss for an answer, the moderator suggests some answer to the objection of the opponent. Isaac Watts.

   9. To try throughly; to force out what is contained within.

   This is the way to pinch the question; therefore, let what will come of it, I will stand the test of your method. Collier.

3. To Pinchverb

   1. To act with force, so as to be felt; to bear hard upon; to be puzzling.

   A difficulty pincheth, nor will it easily be resolved. Joseph Glanvill.

   But thou
   Know’st with an equal hand to hold the scale,
   See’st where the reasons pinch, and where they fail. Dryd.

   2. To spare; to be frugal.

   There is that waxeth rich by his wariness and pinching. Ecclus. xi. 18.

   The poor that scarce have wherewithal to eat,
   Will pinch and make the singing boy a treat. Dryden.

   The bounteous player outgave the pinching lord. Dryden.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. pinch

   A pinch is a small amount of a substance, typically a powdered or finely ground material like salt or spice, that is taken between the thumb and forefinger. It can also refer to the act of gripping or squeezing a small amount of something, or a painful, tight feeling in a muscle. Additionally, it can be used to refer to a difficult, challenging situation or financial hardship.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

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

2. Pinchverb

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

3. Pinchverb

   to plait

4. Pinchverb

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

5. Pinchverb

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

6. Pinchverb

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

7. Pinchverb

   to take hold; to grip, as a dog does

8. Pinchverb

   to spare; to be niggardly; to be covetous

9. Pinchnoun

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

10. Pinchnoun

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

11. Pinchnoun

    pian; pang

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

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

FreebaseRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

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 DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

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 ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. pinch

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

Surnames Frequency by Census RecordsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. PINCH

   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Pinch is ranked #50467 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
   
   The Pinch surname appeared 414 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Pinch.
   
   96.8% or 401 total occurrences were White.
   1.6% or 7 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
   1.2% or 5 total occurrences were of two or more races.

Matched Categories

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

How to pronounce pinch?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

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. Lorne Baring:

   By and large I just take them (the forecasts) with a pinch of salt, it's all about what (European Central Bank President Mario) Draghi says at its next meeting.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. John Locke:

   Our incomes are like our shoes; if too small, they gall and pinch us; but if too large, they cause us to stumble and to trip.

5. Chef Richard Black:

   When in doubt -- add a pinch of salt.

Popularity rank by frequency of use