Pinch /(?)/

imp. & p. p. Pinched; p. pr. & vb. n. Pinching

1. To press hard or squeeze between the ends of the fingers, between teeth or claws, or between the jaws of an instrument; to squeeze or compress, as between any two hard bodies.
2. to seize; to grip; to bite; -- said of animals. [Obs.]

   He [the hound] pinched and pulled her down.

3. To plait. [Obs.]

   Full seemly her wimple ipinched was.

4. Figuratively: To cramp; to straiten; to oppress; to starve; to distress; as, to be pinched for money.

   Want of room . . . pinching a whole nation.

5. To move, as a railroad car, by prying the wheels with a pinch. See Pinch, n., 4.
6. To seize by way of theft; to steal; to lift. [Slang]
7. to catch; to arrest (a criminal).

1. To act with pressing force; to compress; to squeeze; as, the shoe pinches.
2. To take hold; to grip, as a dog does. (Hunt.) [Obs.]
3. To spare; to be niggardly; to be covetous.

   The wretch whom avarice bids to pinch and spare.

1. A close compression, as with the ends of the fingers, or with an instrument; a nip.
2. As much as may be taken between the finger and thumb; any very small quantity; as, a pinch of snuff.
3. Pian; pang.
4. A lever having a projection at one end, acting as a fulcrum, -- used chiefly to roll heavy wheels, etc. Called also pinch bar.