Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Compressed; contracted; narrowed; presenting the appearance of being straitened in circumstances or with cold, want, trouble, or the like: as, a pinched face; a pinched look. Also used occasionally with the meaning of ‘narrowing’ or ‘thinning’ in speaking of mineral veins: as, the vein is pinched.
  • Narrow; reduced in size; “skimped”: said especially of some forms of writing-paper: as, pinched post.
  • Petty; contemptible.
  • Arrested; apprehended.
  • Of long, slender growth, as oysters.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb Simple past tense and past participle of pinch.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective not having enough money to pay for necessities
  • adjective as if squeezed uncomfortably tight
  • adjective very thin especially from disease or hunger or cold
  • adjective sounding as if the nose were pinched

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Odelein pinched from the blue line to the low slot and slid the puck under Johnson for his second goal since December 29.

    National Hockey League - Blues vs. Blue Jackets 2001

  • Mrs. Lattimer stood by the doorway, her expression pinched, her hand at the collar of her shirt.

    CONFESSIONS KATE BRIAN 2007

  • Mrs. Lattimer stood by the doorway, her expression pinched, her hand at the collar of her shirt.

    CONFESSIONS KATE BRIAN 2007

  • She dropped her gaze and saw Zoë, her expression pinched, her skin pale.

    Breakdowns Scott Ciencin 2003

  • Johnson, Chicago Tribune: Taj Gibson didn't practice Sunday after suffering what he called a pinched nerve in his right foot.

    SI.com 2010

  • LOS ANGELES - Taj Gibson didn't practice Sunday after suffering what he called a pinched nerve in his right foot.

    chicagotribune.com - News 2010

  • Perhaps leaving the spare cars parked in various locations around town is not a bad idea anyway … … I bet no car radios were pinched from the Asda car park that day at least.

    This Little Piggy « POLICE INSPECTOR BLOG Inspector Gadget 2007

  • With the Capitals enjoying a 5-on-3 advantage, Ovechkin pinched into the left circle and scored on a slap shot.

    USATODAY.com - Hockey - Atlanta vs. Washington 2006

  • Before and after pix pinched from the Malay Mail newspaper via Bibliobibuli

    Archive 2007-03-01 Glenda Larke 2007

  • Just over eight minutes later, defenseman Adrian Aucoin pinched along the right boards and fired a pass to the front of the net.

    NHL - National Hockey League - Toronto vs. N.Y. Islanders 2002

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