pinch

Universal Words verb, noun verb with thumb and finger 1 [VN] 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 [VN] 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 if sth such as a shoe pinches part of your body, it hurts you because it is too tight: [V] These new shoes pinch. [also VN] steal 4 [VN] ~ sth (from sb/sth) (BrE, informal) to steal sth, especially sth small and not very valuable: Kids have been pinching our apples again. * Who's pinched my pen? cost too much 5 [VN] 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 [VN] (old-fashioned, BrE, informal) to arrest sb: I was pinched for dangerous driving. IDIOMS pinch pennies (informal) to try to spend as little money as possible PHRASALVERBS pinch sth<->off / out 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 IDIOMS at a pinch (BrE) (AmE in a pinch) 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 salt 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. moreatFEELv.