Pinch
Pinch , transitive verb
[French pincer, probably from OD. pitsen to pinch; akin to German pfetzen to cut, pinch; perhaps of Celtic origin. Compare Piece.]
1.
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.
to seize; to grip; to bite; -- said of animals. [Obsolete]
He [the hound] pinched and pulled her down.
3.
To plait. [Obsolete]
Full seemly her wimple ipinched was.
4.
Figuratively: To cramp; to straiten; to oppress; to starve; to distress; as, to be pinched for money.
Want of room... pinching a whole nation.
5.
To move, as a railroad car, by prying the wheels with a pinch. See Pinch, n., 4.
6.
To seize by way of theft; to steal; to lift. [Slang] — Robert Barr
7.
to catch; to arrest (a criminal).
Pinch , intransitive verb
1.
To act with pressing force; to compress; to squeeze; as, the shoe pinches.
2.
(Hunt.) To take hold; to grip, as a dog does. [Obsolete]
3.
To spare; to be niggardly; to be covetous. — Gower
The wretch whom avarice bids to pinch and spare.
Collocations (1)
To pinch at , to find fault with; to take exception to. [Obsolete] — Chaucer
Pinch , noun
1.
A close compression, as with the ends of the fingers, or with an instrument; a nip.
2.
As much as may be taken between the finger and thumb; any very small quantity; as, a pinch of snuff.
3.
Pian; pang.
Necessary's sharp pinch.
4.
A lever having a projection at one end, acting as a fulcrum, -- used chiefly to roll heavy wheels, etc. Called also pinch bar.
Collocations (1)
At a pinch or On a pinch , in an emergency; as, he could on a pinch read a little Latin.