v.
- grip (the flesh) tightly and sharply between finger and thumb.
▸(of a shoe) hurt (a foot) by being too tight.
▸
[often as adj. pinched]
tighten (the lips or a part of the face), especially with worry or tension.
- live in a frugal way.
- informal steal.
▸Brit. arrest (someone).
- remove (buds or leaves) to encourage bushy growth.
- Sailing sail (a boat) so close to the wind that the sails begin to lose power.
n.
- an act of pinching.
▸an amount of an ingredient that can be held between fingers and thumb.
- Baseball a critical point in the game.
Phrase
- at
(or N. Amer. in)
a pinch
if absolutely necessary. - feel the pinch
experience hardship, especially financial.
Etymology
ME: from an Old North. Fr. var. of OFr. pincier ‘to pinch’.