| Front | pinch |
|---|---|
| Back | pinch verb, noun BrE /pɪntʃ/ NAmE /pɪntʃ/ verb with thumb and finger 1 [transitive] ~ sb/sth/yourself to take a piece of sb's skin between your thumb and first finger and squeeze hard, especially to hurt the person My sister's always pinching me and it really hurts. He pinched the baby's cheek playfully. (figurative) She had to pinch herself to make sure she was not dreaming. 2 [transitive] ~ sth (+ adv./prep.) to hold sth tightly between the thumb and finger or between two things that are pressed together Pinch the nostrils together between your thumb and finger to stop the bleeding. a pinched nerve in the neck of a shoe 3 [intransitive, transitive] ~ (sb/sth) if sth such as a shoe pinches part of your body, it hurts you because it is too tight These new shoes pinch. steal 4 [transitive] ~ sth (from sb/sth) (BrE, informal) to steal sth, especially sth small and not very valuable nick Kids have been pinching our apples again. Who's pinched my pen? cost too much 5 [transitive] ~ sb/sth to cost a person or an organization a lot of money or more than they can spend Higher interest rates are already pinching the housing industry. arrest 6 [transitive] ~ sb (old-fashioned, BrE, informal) to arrest sb I was pinched for dangerous driving. pinch ˈpennies (informal) to try to spend as little money as possible ˌpinch sthˈoff/ˈout to remove sth by pressing your fingers together and pulling Pinch off the dead flowers. noun with thumb and finger 1 an act of squeezing a part of sb's skin tightly between your thumb and finger, especially in order to hurt them She gave him a pinch on the arm to wake him up. small amount 2 the amount of sth that you can hold between your finger and thumb a pinch of salt at a ˈpinch (BrE) (NAmE in a ˈpinch) used to say that sth could be done or used in a particular situation if it is really necessary We can get six people round this table at a pinch. The recipe is for beef, but at a pinch you could use chicken. take sth with a pinch of ˈsalt to be careful about believing that sth is completely true If I were you, I'd take everything he says with a pinch of salt. more at feel the pinch at feel v. |
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