From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpinchpinch1 /pɪntʃ/ ●○○ verb 1 [transitive]PRESS to press a part of someone’s skin very tightly between your finger and thumb, especially so that it hurts We have to stop her pinching her baby brother. He pinched her cheek.► see thesaurus at hurt2 STEAL[transitive] British English informal to steal something, especially something small or not very valuable Someone’s pinched my coat!► see thesaurus at steal3 [transitive] to press something between your finger and thumb Pinch the edges of the pastry together to seal it.4 [intransitive, transitive]PRESS if something you are wearing pinches you, it presses painfully on part of your body, because it is too tight Her new shoes were pinching.5 → somebody has to pinch themselves6 [transitive] British English old-fashionedCATCH to arrest someoneGrammar Pinch is usually passive in this meaning. → pinch something ↔ out→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
pinch• She pinched her own arm until it was black and blue.• It was one of the slimmest, and the envelopes in it were pinched in slightly by the pressure of the bands.• Dad! Katy just pinched me!• Stop pinching me!• These shoes pinch my toes.• These fellows for fun would pinch one and put it on another step, and do this going all down the road.• He pinched some out and cleaned it on a crumpled paper bag, not knowing what to say.• He pinched the last quarter inch of his cigarette tightly, and sucked on it so hard it squeaked.pinchpinch2 noun [countable] 1 → pinch of salt/pepper etc2 PRESSwhen you press someone’s skin between your finger and thumb She gave him a playful pinch.3 → at a pinch4 → take something with a pinch of salt5 → feel the pinchExamples from the Corpus
pinch• Grandma gave us both a pinch on the cheek.• Among insurance companies, he could win any case in a pinch.• Not quirky little ritual habit-forming, like throwing a pinch of spilled salt over your shoulder, but slow suicide habit-forming.• I take all that fame with a pinch of salt.• Mark on veins and pinch base together to shape.• Duquette, pinch hitting for manager Kevin Kennedy, voiced his views at a BoSox Club luncheon.• Hunt evening coat, waistcoat fitting him with the same exact pinch as waistcoats had when he was twenty.• At significant times in the day we have got real pinch points on corridors, particularly motorways.• Small businesses dependent on the government also are feeling the pinch.Origin pinch1 (1200-1300) From an unrecorded Old North French pinchier 