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   pinch

   /pɪn(t)ʃ/

   verb

   • 1. grip (something, typically a person's flesh) tightly and sharply between finger and thumb: "she pinched his cheek" Similar niptweaksqueezecompressgrasp
   • ▪ use the fingers to remove (buds or leaves) from a plant to encourage bushy growth: "pinch out tips of shoots regularly"
   • ▪ (of a shoe) hurt (a foot) by being too tight: "Mrs Grandison's pointed, Italian-style shoes were already beginning to pinch her feet" Similar hurtcause pain topainsqueezecrushcrampchafeconfinebe uncomfortablecause discomfortbe painful
   • ▪ compress (one's lips), especially from worry or tension: "Aunt Rose pinched her thin lips together"
   • 2. move one's finger and thumb apart or bring them together on (a touchscreen) in order to zoom into or out of an image, activate a function, etc.: "to explore in more detail just pinch the screen"
   • 3. steal or take without permission: informal "he pinched a handful of sweets" Similar stealthieverobtakesnatchpilferpurloinlootrifleabscond withcarry offembezzlemisappropriateinformal:walk off/away withrun away/off withswipenabrip offliftliberatefilchnickhalf-inchwhipknock offnobbleboneheistglomsnaveltiefarchaic:cribhook
   • ▪ arrest (someone): British "I was pinched for dangerous driving last month" Similar arresttake into custodyapprehendtake prisonerdetainseizecapturecatchlay hold oftake inhaul ininformal:collarnabpick uprun/pull inbustnaildofeel someone's collarnick
   • 4. live in a frugal way: "if I scraped and pinched a bit, I might manage" Similar economizebe economicalscrimpscrimp and savecut cornersreduce wastageskimpstintbe sparingbe frugalcut backtighten one's beltdraw in one's hornsretrenchcut expenditurecut one's coat according to one's clothbe niggardlybe tight-fistedbe closeinformal:be stingybe tightbe mingy
   • 5. sail (a boat) so close to the wind that the sails begin to lose power.

   noun

   • 1. an act of pinching someone: "he gave her a gentle pinch" Similar niptweaksqueeze
   • ▪ an amount of an ingredient that can be held between fingers and thumb: "add a pinch of salt" Similar small quantitybittouchdashspottracesoupçonspecktasteinformal:smidgensmidgetad
   • 2. a critical point in the game.

   Word Origin Middle English (as a verb): from an Old Northern French variant of Old French pincier ‘to pinch’.

   Derivatives

   • 1. pincher noun

   Scrabble Points: 12

   • P

     3

   • I

     1

   • N

     1

   • C

     3

   • H

     4

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