释义 |
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024pinch /pɪntʃ/USA pronunciation v. - to squeeze between the finger and thumb, the jaws of an instrument, or the like:[~ + object]She pinched the child's cheek.
- to squeeze painfully or tightly, as a tight shoe does: [~ + object]These new shoes pinch her.[no object]Those Sunday shoes pinched.
- to cause to be drawn or pale:[~ + object]a face pinched with fear.
- to affect with sharp discomfort or distress, as with cold or hunger:[~ + object]a family pinched by the recession.
- Slang Terms[~ + object]
- to steal:pinching a few items from the drugstore.
- to arrest.
n. [countable] - the act of pinching;
a nip or squeeze:She gave him a little pinch on the cheek. - as much of something as can be taken up between the finger and thumb:a pinch of salt for flavor.
- Slang Terms
- a raid or arrest.
- a theft.
Idioms- feel the pinch, to undergo or live under stress caused by poverty:Most families began to feel the pinch during the recession when their unemployment insurance ran out.
- in a pinch, if absolutely necessary, as in an emergency:In a pinch we could cut our meals down to two a day.
- Idioms pinch pennies, to spend very little money and save whatever one can.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024pinch (pinch),USA pronunciation v.t. - to squeeze or compress between the finger and thumb, the teeth, the jaws of an instrument, or the like.
- to constrict or squeeze painfully, as a tight shoe does.
- to cramp within narrow bounds or quarters:The crowd pinched him into a corner.
- to render (the face, body, etc.) unnaturally constricted or drawn, as pain or distress does:Years of hardship had pinched her countenance beyond recognition.
- Botany[Hort.]to remove or shorten (buds or shoots) in order to produce a certain shape of the plant, improve the quality of the bloom or fruit, or increase the development of buds (often fol. by out, off, or back).
- to affect with sharp discomfort or distress, as cold, hunger, or need does.
- to straiten in means or circumstances:The depression pinched them.
- to stint (a person, family, etc.) in allowance of money, food, or the like:They were severely pinched by the drought.
- to hamper or inconvenience by the lack of something specified:The builders were pinched by the shortage of good lumber.
- to stint the supply or amount of (a thing).
- to put a pinch or small quantity of (a powder, spice, etc.) into something.
- Slang Terms
- to roll or slide (a heavy object) with leverage from a pinch bar.
- Nautical, Naval Termsto sail (a ship) so close to the wind that the sails shake slightly and the speed is reduced.
- British Terms, Sport[Horse Racing, Brit.]to press (a horse) to the point of exhaustion.
v.i. - to exert a sharp or painful constricting force:This shoe pinches.
- to cause sharp discomfort or distress:Their stomachs were pinched with hunger.
- to economize unduly;
stint oneself:They pinched and scraped for years to save money for a car. - Mining(of a vein of ore or the like)
- to diminish.
- to diminish to nothing (sometimes fol. by out).
- Nautical, Naval Termsto trim a sail too flat when sailing to windward.
- Idioms pinch pennies, to stint on or be frugal or economical with expenditures;
economize:I'll have to pinch pennies if I'm going to get through school. n. - the act of pinching;
nip; squeeze. - as much of anything as can be taken up between the finger and thumb:a pinch of salt.
- a very small quantity of anything:a pinch of pungent wit.
- sharp or painful stress, as of hunger, need, or any trying circumstances:the pinch of conscience; to feel the pinch of poverty.
- a situation or time of special stress, esp. an emergency:A friend is someone who will stand by you in a pinch.
- BuildingSee pinch bar.
- Slang Termsa raid or an arrest.
- Slang Termsa theft.
- Idioms with a pinch of salt. See grain (def. 22).
- Vulgar Latin *pīnctiāre, variant of *pūnctiāre to prick (compare pique1)
- Anglo-French *pinchier (equivalent. to Old French pincier, Spanish pinchar)
- Middle English pinchen 1250–1300
pinch′a•ble, adj. |