pinched Meaning, Definition & Usage

1. verb squeeze tightly between the fingers
   twitch; pinch; tweet; twinge; nip; squeeze.
   
   • He pinched her behind
   • She squeezed the bottle
2. verb make ridges into by pinching together
   pinch; crimp.
   
3. verb make off with belongings of others
   pilfer; filch; pinch; abstract; swipe; sneak; purloin; hook; lift; snarf; cabbage; nobble.
   
4. verb cut the top off
   pinch; top.
   
   • top trees and bushes
5. verb irritate as if by a nip, pinch, or tear
   pinch; vellicate.
   
   • smooth surfaces can vellicate the teeth
   • the pain is as if sharp points pinch your back
6. adjective satellite sounding as if the nose were pinched
   nasal; adenoidal.
   
   • a whining nasal voice
7. adjective satellite very thin especially from disease or hunger or cold
   bony; emaciated; cadaverous; gaunt; skeletal; wasted; haggard.
   
   • emaciated bony hands
   • a nightmare population of gaunt men and skeletal boys
   • eyes were haggard and cavernous
   • small pinched faces
   • kept life in his wasted frame only by grim concentration
8. adjective satellite not having enough money to pay for necessities
   penurious; penniless; in straitened circumstances; impecunious; hard up.
   
9. adjective satellite as if squeezed uncomfortably tight
   
   • her pinched toes in her pointed shoes were killing her

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