pinch

UK/pɪnt͡ʃ/US/pɪnt͡ʃ/

verbB14 meanings Common in everyday speech and writing · #3,293 of 15,258leans spoken

Other forms: pinched, pinching, pinches

To pinch is to squeeze a piece of skin sharply between your finger and thumb. A child pinching her brother under the table, or pinching your own arm to check you are awake.

The noun is the amount you can hold that way, so a pinch of salt, a pinch of chilli, which is how cooks measure the small things. Shoes pinch when they are too tight, and the word carries over to money that is too tight as well: a family feeling the pinch after the rent went up. In British English pinch also means to steal something small, as in someone has pinched my pen. And to take something with a pinch of salt is to believe only part of it.

Definitions of pinch

1verbpinchTo squeeze someone's skin sharply between finger and thumb.B1
“She pinched his arm to make him stop talking.”
- Said"Stop it! He pinched me under the table and thinks I didn't notice."
- WrittenShe pinched his cheek the way she had when he was five, and he let her.
- UsedPinch the skin gently between finger and thumb to test it.
- ContrastPinch, not hit. A hit uses the whole hand; a pinch is two fingers and a small sharp squeeze. hit →
- Not thisA pinch of salt is another meaning, a tiny amount. Here it is what a crab does.
- Exchange"Did you pinch me?""Only a little. You were asleep."
- SimplyDo not pinch your sister. It hurts.
Patternpinch sb (on the arm) · pinch sth between finger and thumb · a pinch · pinch yourself
2nounamountThe small amount you can hold between finger and thumb.B1
“Add a pinch of salt and taste it again.”
- Said"I only put in a pinch of salt, and it's plenty."
- WrittenHer grandmother measured nothing: a pinch of this, a pinch of that, and it was always right.
- UsedAdd two pinches of sugar and stir.
- ContrastA pinch, not a handful. A pinch is what finger and thumb can hold; a handful fills your hand. handful →
- Exchange"How much pepper goes in?""Only a pinch. It's strong."
- SimplyTake very little in two fingers. That is a pinch.
Patterna pinch of + noun (salt, sugar, pepper) · a small pinch · take sth with a pinch of salt (= do not fully believe it)
3verbshoesOf shoes or clothes: to press painfully tight.B2
“These boots pinch across the toes.”
4verbstealTo steal something small.B2
“Someone has pinched my umbrella from the hall.”

Too few real examples of this word to estimate which sense is commonest.

Remember it

pINCH → an INCH between finger and thumb

Take an inch of your brother's arm between finger and thumb and squeeze: that is a pinch. A pinch of salt is only what you can hold that way.

hooks ontoinch

Phrases it lives in

take something with a pinch of salt — believe only part of it
feel the pinch — start to suffer from having less money
at a pinch — if there is no other way

Also practised as

nounThe small amount you can hold between finger and thumb.

Where it comes from

Pinch came from Middle English pinchen, taken from a Norman French form pinchier, beside Old French pincier, to pinch. Its own beginnings are unclear. One line traces it to a Vulgar Latin verb that merged two ideas, punctio, a puncture or prick, and picco, to strike or sting, the second from a Frankish word pikkon. Either way the sting is ancient, and the word belongs with point, pick and pitch.

Proto-Germanic
*pikkōną — to pick, peck, prick
Frankish
*pikkōn
Latin
punctiō — a puncture, prick
Vulgar Latin
*pincio — to puncture, pinch
fro-nor
*pinchier
Middle English
pinchen
English, today
pinch

Built from

pincer · Old French — to pinch
*punctiō · Latin — to puncture, sting
*picco · Latin — to strike, sting

From Middle English pinchen, from fro-nor pinchier (compare Old French pincier, pincer (“to pinch”)), a word of unknown origin, possibly from Vulgar Latin pincio (“to puncture, pinch”), from a merger of punctiō (“to puncture, sting”), from Latin punctiō (“a puncture, prick”) and picco (“to strike, sting”), from Frankish pikkōn, from Proto-Germanic pikkōną (“to pick, peck, prick”). More at point, pick and pitch.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Everyday Verbs, Holding & Carrying

Practise this word

pinch in the wild

In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter.
Pinch hitter
The pinch hitter assumes the spot in the batting order of the player whom he replaces.
Pinch hitter
In baseball or softball, a pinch runner is a player substituted into a game for the purpose of base running.
Pinch runner
Filippov, who noticed the effect while working on early pinch machines.
Dense plasma focus
The basic design derives from the Z-pinch concept.
Dense plasma focus

1 / 3

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the pincer family

pinch pinched

pinch — used about once every 541 pages · #3,293 · point at the bar for the others

take with a pinch of salt

Definitions of pinch

1verbpinchTo squeeze someone's skin sharply between finger and thumb.B1

“She pinched his arm to make him stop talking.”

Said"Stop it! He pinched me under the table and thinks I didn't notice."
WrittenShe pinched his cheek the way she had when he was five, and he let her.
UsedPinch the skin gently between finger and thumb to test it.
ContrastPinch, not hit. A hit uses the whole hand; a pinch is two fingers and a small sharp squeeze. hit →
Not thisA pinch of salt is another meaning, a tiny amount. Here it is what a crab does.
Exchange"Did you pinch me?""Only a little. You were asleep."
SimplyDo not pinch your sister. It hurts.

Patternpinch sb (on the arm) · pinch sth between finger and thumb · a pinch · pinch yourself

2nounamountThe small amount you can hold between finger and thumb.B1

“Add a pinch of salt and taste it again.”

Said"I only put in a pinch of salt, and it's plenty."
WrittenHer grandmother measured nothing: a pinch of this, a pinch of that, and it was always right.
UsedAdd two pinches of sugar and stir.
ContrastA pinch, not a handful. A pinch is what finger and thumb can hold; a handful fills your hand. handful →
Exchange"How much pepper goes in?""Only a pinch. It's strong."
SimplyTake very little in two fingers. That is a pinch.

Patterna pinch of + noun (salt, sugar, pepper) · a small pinch · take sth with a pinch of salt (= do not fully believe it)

3verbshoesOf shoes or clothes: to press painfully tight.B2

“These boots pinch across the toes.”

4verbstealTo steal something small.B2

“Someone has pinched my umbrella from the hall.”

Too few real examples of this word to estimate which sense is commonest.