pinch
English · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
pinch
- /pɪnt͡ʃ/
Rhymes with -ɪntʃ
Where it comes from
From Middle English pinchen, from Old Northern French *pinchier (compare Old French pincier, pincer (“to pinch”)), a word of uncertain origin, possibly from Vulgar Latin *pinciāre (“to puncture, pinch”), from a merger of *punctiāre (“to puncture, sting”), from Latin punctiō (“a puncture, prick”) and *piccāre (“to strike, sting”), from Frankish *pikkōn, from Proto-Germanic *pikkōną (“to pick, peck, prick”). More at point, pick and pitch.
verb pinches · pinching · pinched
-
To squeeze a small amount of a person's skin and flesh, making it hurt.
The children were scolded for pinching each other.
Similar: tweak
- To squeeze between the thumb and forefinger. He took the plate in his hand, holding it between thumb and forefinger at one corner, letting it hang down. With the other hand he pinched it at the opposite corner, pressing thumb and forefinger together tightly.
- To squeeze between two objects. Since the resistance of the channel is inversely proportional to its width, the most resistive region is the one pinched between the gates where they come closest to each other.
- Of clothing, to be uncomfortably tight in specific spots. With their jock-straps pinching, they slouch to attention While queueing for sarnies at the office canteen.
-
To steal, usually something inconsequential.
Someone has pinched my handkerchief!
Similar: crib, purloin, steal, abduct, abstract, appropriate, bag, bandit, bash and grab, bone, boost, burgle
-
To arrest or capture.
Similar: bust, nick, apprehend, begripe, capture, fang, grasp, get, gripe, lay hold of, rape, seize
- To cut shoots or buds of a plant in order to shape the plant, or to improve its yield.
- To sail so close-hauled that the sails begin to flutter.
- To take hold; to grip, as a dog does.
-
To be stingy or covetous; to live sparingly.
There was with him none other fare,
But for to pinche and for to spare
Similar: cheesepare, cut it fine, pinch pennies, skimp
- To seize; to grip; to bite. He [the hound] pinch'd and pull'd her down.
- To cramp; to straiten; to oppress; to starve. to be pinched for money
- To move, as a railroad car, by prying the wheels with a pinch.
-
To complain or find fault.
Therefore who so them accuse
Of any double entencion,
To speake, rowne, other to muse,
To pinch at their condicion,
All is but false collusion,
I dare rightwell the sothe express,
They have no better protection,
Similar: grumble, rail, beef, bellyache, bemoan, bitch, bleat, whimper, carp, chunter, complain, crab
noun pinches
- The action of squeezing a small amount of a person's skin and flesh, making it hurt.
- A close compression of anything with the fingers. I gave the leather of the sofa a pinch, gauging the texture.
-
A small amount of powder or granules, such that the amount could be held between fingertip and thumb tip.
Mix about four cups of white flour with a pinch of salt.
Similar: smidgen, ace, atom, thought, atomy, aught, bissel, continental, bit, crumb, glimpse, dab
-
An awkward situation of some kind (especially money or social) which is difficult to escape.
And wel his merits ſhew him to be made
His Fortunes maiſter, and the king of men.
That could perſwade at ſuch a ſodaine pinch,
With reaſons of his valour and his life,
A thouſand ſworne and ouer-matching foes:
Similar: difficulty, kettle of fish, ass in a sling, bind, bucket of syrup, calvary, cauldron, cross, cross to bear, dilemma, dire straits, doghouse
- A metal bar used as a lever for lifting weights, rolling wheels, etc.
- An organic herbal smoke additive.
- A magnetic compression of an electrically conducting filament.
- The narrow part connecting the two bulbs of an hourglass. It looked like an hourglass, but all those little glittering shapes tumbling through the pinch were seconds.
- An arrest.
- A steep incline; a very steep section of road. Down several steep pinches the lubra went sprawling[.]
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: twinge, tweak, squeeze, swipe, vellicate, crimp, speck, touch, catch, snarf, lift, top, sneak, filch, nobble, apprehension
Translations
Every language
verb to squeeze a small amount of skin
| Español | pellizcar, repizcar, peñiscar, peñizcar |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 꼬집다 kkojipda |
| 日本語 | 抓る tsuneru |
| 中文 | 捏 niē, 掐 qiā |
| Português | beliscar |
| Français | pincer |
| Deutsch | kneifen, zwicken |
| Italiano | pizzicare |
| Română | pișca, ciupi |
| Русский | щипа́ть ščipátʹ, ущипну́ть uščipnútʹ, прищемля́ть priščemljátʹ, прищеми́ть priščemítʹ, защемля́ть zaščemljátʹ, защеми́ть zaščemítʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | véo, béo, nhéo |
| العربية | قَرَصَ qaraṣa |
| עברית | צבט tsavát |
verb to steal
| Español | pellizcar, afanar, chorizar, chorear, birlar |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 偷 tōu |
| Português | roubar |
| Français | chiper |
| Deutsch | stehlen, abpressen, entwenden |
| Русский | стащи́ть staščítʹ, сты́рить stýritʹ, спи́здить spízditʹ |
verb to arrest or capture
| 中文 | 抓 zhuā, 逮 dài |
|---|---|
| Français | pincer |
| Deutsch | schnappen, erwischen |
| Italiano | acciuffare |
| Русский | аресто́вывать arestóvyvatʹ, арестова́ть arestovátʹ, схва́тывать sxvátyvatʹ, схвати́ть sxvatítʹ |
verb horticulture: to cut shoots or buds
| 中文 | 修剪 xiūjiǎn |
|---|
noun action of squeezing a small amount of skin
| Español | pellizco, repizco, peñisco, peñizco, peñizcón, pellizcón |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 掐 qiā |
| Português | beliscada, beliscão |
| Français | pincement |
| Italiano | pizzico |
| Русский | щипо́к ščipók, щипа́ние ščipánije |
| العربية | قَرْصَة qarṣa |
| עברית | צְבִיטָה tzvitá |
Talk about this word "pinch." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/pinch. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. pinch. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/pinch "pinch." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/pinch.Cite this
@misc{pinch_2026,
title = {pinch},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/pinch},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
