Webster's English Dictionary

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pinch

Cross references:
  1. juncture              
 
1. pinch \'pinch\ vb [ME pinchen, fr. (assumed) ONF pinchier] 1a: to 
   squeeze between the finger and thumb or between the jaws of an inst rument 
   1b: to prune the tip of (a plant or shoot) usu. to induce branching  1c: to 
   squeeze or compress painfully  1d: to cause physical or mental pain to  
   1e1: to cause to appear thin or shrunken  1e2: to cause to shrivel or 
   wither  2: to subject to strict economy or want : STRAITEN  3a: STEAL  3b: 
   ARREST  4: to sail too close to the wind  1: COMPRESS, SQUEEZE  2: to be 
   miserly or closefisted  3: to press painfully  4: NARROW, TAPER 
2. pinch n 1a: a critical juncture : EMERGENCY  1b1: PRESSURE, STRESS  1b2: 
   HARDSHIP, PRIVATION  1c: SHORTAGE  2a: an act of pinching : SQUEEZE  2b: as 
   much as may be taken between the finger and thumb {a ~ of sa lt} 3: a 
   marked thinning of a vein or bed  4a: THEFT  4b: a police raid : ARREST