pinch

(pĭnch)

1. To squeeze between the thumb and a finger, the jaws of a tool, or other edges.
2. To squeeze or bind (a part of the body) in a way that causes discomfort or pain: These shoes pinch my toes.
3. To nip, wither, or shrivel: buds that were pinched by the frost; a face that was pinched with grief.
4. To straiten: “A year and a half of the blockade has pinched Germany” (William L. Shirer).
5. Slang To take (money or property) unlawfully. See Synonyms at steal.
6. Slang To take into custody; arrest.
7. To move (something) with a pinch bar.
8. Nautical To sail (a boat) so close into the wind that its sails shiver and its speed is reduced.

1. To press, squeeze, or bind painfully: This collar pinches.
2. To be miserly.
3. Nautical To drag an oar at the end of a stroke.

1. The act or an instance of pinching.
2. An amount that can be held between thumb and forefinger: a pinch of salt.
3. A painful, difficult, or straitened circumstance: felt the pinch of the recession.
4. An emergency situation: This coat will do in a pinch.
5. A narrowing of a mineral deposit, as in a mine.
6. Informal A theft.
7. Slang An arrest by a law enforcement officer.