PINCH


Meaning of PINCH in English

transcription, транскрипция: [ pɪntʃ ]

v. & n. --v. 1 tr. a grip (esp. the skin of part of the body or of another person) tightly, esp. between finger and thumb (pinched my finger in the door; stop pinching me). b (often absol.) (of a shoe, garment, etc.) constrict (the flesh) painfully. 2 tr. (of cold, hunger, etc.) grip (a person) painfully (she was pinched with cold). 3 tr. sl. a steal; take without permission. b arrest (a person) (pinched him for loitering). 4 (as pinched adj.) (of the features) drawn, as with cold, hunger, worry, etc. 5 a tr. (usu. foll. by in, of, for, etc.) stint (a person). b intr. be niggardly with money, food, etc. 6 tr. (usu. foll. by out, back, down) Hort. remove (leaves, buds, etc.) to encourage bushy growth. 7 intr. sail very close to the wind. --n. 1 the act or an instance of pinching etc. the flesh. 2 an amount that can be taken up with fingers and thumb (a pinch of snuff). 3 the stress or pain caused by poverty, cold, hunger, etc. 4 sl. a an arrest. b a theft. øat (or in) a pinch in an emergency; if necessary. feel the pinch experience the effects of poverty. pinch-hitter US 1 a baseball player who bats instead of another in an emergency. 2 a person acting as a substitute. [ME f. AF & ONF pinchier (unrecorded), OF pincier, ult. f. L pungere punct- prick]

English main colloquial, spoken dictionary.      Английский основной разговорный словарь.