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.
Phrases and idioms:
at (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.
Etymology: ME f. AF & ONF pinchier (unrecorded), OF pincier, ult. f. L pungere punct- prick