(~es, ~ing, ~ed)
1.
If you ~ a part of someone’s body, you take a piece of their skin between your thumb and first finger and give it a short squeeze.
She ~ed his arm as hard as she could...
We both kept ~ing ourselves to prove that it wasn’t all a dream.
VERB: V n, V pron-refl
•
Pinch is also a noun.
She gave him a little ~.
N-COUNT
2.
A ~ of an ingredient such as salt is the amount of it that you can hold between your thumb and your first finger.
Put all the ingredients, including a ~ of salt, into a food processor.
to take something with a ~ of salt: see salt
N-COUNT: usu N of n
3.
To ~ something, especially something of little value, means to steal it. (INFORMAL)
...pickpockets who ~ed his wallet.
VERB: V n
4.
If you say that something is possible at a ~, or in American English if you say that something is possible in a ~, you mean that it would be possible if it was necessary, but it might not be very comfortable or convenient.
Six people, and more at a ~, could be seated comfortably at the table.
PHRASE: PHR with cl/group
5.
If a person or company is feeling the ~, they do not have as much money as they used to, and so they cannot buy the things they would like to buy.
Consumers are spending less and traders are feeling the ~.
PHRASE: V inflects