PINCHED

cadaverous, emaciated, gaunt, haggard, pinched, skeletal, wasted

(adjective) very thin especially from disease or hunger or cold; “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”

adenoidal, pinched, nasal

(adjective) sounding as if the nose were pinched; “a whining nasal voice”

pinched

(adjective) as if squeezed uncomfortably tight; “her pinched toes in her pointed shoes were killing her”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Verb

pinched

simple past tense and past participle of pinch

Adjective

pinched (comparative more pinched, superlative most pinched)

Very thin, as if drawn together

(of a person or their face) Tense and pale from cold, worry, or hunger.

Financially hurt or damaged.

Compressed

Source: Wiktionary


PINCH

Pinch, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pinched; p. pr. & vb. n. Pinching.] Etym: [F. pincer, probably fr. OD. pitsen to pinch; akin to G. pfetzen to cut, pinch; perhaps of Celtic origin. Cf. Piece.]

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. o seize; to grip; to bite; -- said of animals. [Obs.] He [the hound] pinched and pulled her down. Chapman.

3. To plait. [Obs.] Full seemly her wimple ipinched was. Chaucer.

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. Sir W. Raleigh.

5. To move, as a railroad car, by prying the wheels with a pinch. See Pinch, n., 4.

Pinch, v. i.

1. To act with pressing force; to compress; to squeeze; as, the shoe pinches."

2. (Hunt.)

Definition: To take hold; to grip, as a dog does. [Obs.]

3. To spare; to be niggardly; to be covetous. Gower. The wretch whom avarice bids to pinch and spare. Franklin. To pinch at, to find fault with; to take exception to. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Pinch, n.

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. "Necessary's sharp pinch." Shak.

4. A lever having a projection at one end, acting as a fulcrum, -- used chiefly to roll heavy wheels, etc. Called also pinch bar. At a pinch, On a pinch, in an emergency; as, he could on a pinch read a little Latin.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

2 June 2025

FOOTING

(noun) status with respect to the relations between people or groups; “on good terms with her in-laws”; “on a friendly footing”


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Coffee Trivia

The word “coffee” entered the English language in 1582 via the Dutch “koffie,” borrowed from the Ottoman Turkish “kahve,” borrowed in turn from the Arabic “qahwah.” The Arabic word qahwah was traditionally held to refer to a type of wine.

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