pinch
/pɪntʃ/
verb
PRESS 压
[I or T]
* to squeeze something, especially someone's skin, strongly between two hard things such as a finger and a thumb, usually causing pain
捏，拧，掐，夹

1. Ouch! Stop pinching (me)!
哎哟，别掐我！

2. These shoes are too tight, they pinch (my feet).
这双鞋太紧了，夹我的脚。

pinch yourself informal
* You say that you have to pinch yourself if you cannot really believe something that has happened because it is so good or so strange
掐自己一下（表示某事太好或太奇怪，简直令人难以置信）

1. I can't believe that he's back from Canada and he's mine - I keep having to pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming.
我不敢相信他从加拿大回来了，他是我的——我不停地掐自己以确定我不是在做梦。

/pɪntʃ/
verb
STEAL 偷窃
[T] informal
* to steal something
偷窃

1. Right, who's pinched my chair?
好嘛，谁把我的椅子偷走了？

/pɪntʃ/
verb
pinch pennies (UK also pinch and scrape) old-fashioned
* to spend as little money as possible
精打细算；省吃俭用

1. When we were first married we had to pinch pennies just to get by.
我们刚结婚时不得不精打细算以勉强维持生计。

/pɪntʃ/
noun
AMOUNT 数量
[C]
* a small amount of something, such as a powder, especially the amount which a person can hold between their first finger and thumb
（一）撮；少量

1. While the tomatoes are cooking add a pinch of salt/sugar/dried thyme.
煮番茄时加一小撮盐／糖／干百里香。

2. figurative Opinion polls on subjects like this should be taken with a pinch of scepticism.
对这种议题的民意调查应持半信半疑的态度。

/pɪntʃ/
noun
PRESS 压
[C usually singular]
* when you pinch something or someone
捏，拧，掐，夹

1. She gave Emma a painful pinch on the arm.
她在艾玛的手臂上狠狠地掐了一下。

/pɪntʃ/
noun
at a pinch (US in a pinch) UK
* Something that you can do at a pinch can be done if it is really necessary, but it will be difficult, not perfect, or not what you would really like
必要时；在紧要关头

1. I need £2000 to set up the business, but I suppose £1500 would do at a pinch.
我需要2000英镑来创办这间公司，不过实在凑不够的话，1500英镑也可以。

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pinch ★★☆☆☆

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pinch
pinch / pintF / verbWITH THUMB AND FINGER 用拇指和手指
1. [VN] to take a piece of sb's skin between your thumb and first finger and squeeze hard, especially to hurt the person
   拧；揑；掐:
   My sister's always pinching me and it really hurts.
   我姐姐老拧我,好痛喔。
   He pinched the baby's cheek playfully.
   他揑着宝宝的脸颊逗着玩。
  (figurative) She had to pinch herself to make sure she was not dreaming.
   她不得不掐一下自己,弄清楚自己不是在做梦。
2. [VN] to hold sth tightly between the thumb and finger or between two things that are pressed together
   揑住；夹紧:
   Pinch the nostrils together between your thumb and finger to stop the bleeding.
   用手指揑住鼻孔止血。
   a pinched nerve in the neck
   脖子上一条被挤压的神经
OF A SHOE 鞋
3. if sth such as a shoe pinches part of your body, it hurts you because it is too tight
   夹(脚)；夹痛
  ▪ [V]
   These new shoes pinch.
   这双新鞋夹脚。
  ▪ [also VN]
STEAL 偷窃
4. [VN] ~ sth (from sb / sth) (BrE, informal) to steal sth, especially sth small and not very valuable
   偷摸；行窃
   SYN  nick :
   Who's pinched my pen?
   谁拿了我的笔？
COST TOO MUCH 昂贵
5. [VN] to cost a person or an organization a lot of money or more than they can spend
   使花费过多；使入不敷出:
   Higher interest rates are already pinching the housing industry.
   提高利率已使住房产业不堪负荷。
ARREST 拘捕
6. [VN] (old-fashioned, BrE, informal) to arrest sb
   逮捕:
   I was pinched for dangerous driving.
   我因危险驾驶而被抓住。
 IDIOMS 
▪ pinch 'pennies    (informal) to try to spend as little money as possible
   一毛不拔；吝啬
 PHRASAL VERBS 
▪ 7pinch sth ↔ 'off / 'out
   to remove sth by pressing your fingers together and pulling
   掐掉；摘掉nounWITH THUMB AND FINGER 用拇指和手指
1. an act of squeezing a part of sb's skin tightly between your thumb and finger, especially in order to hurt them
   揑；掐；拧:
   She gave him a pinch on the arm to wake him up.
   她拧一下他的胳膊把他唤醒。
SMALL AMOUNT 少量
2. the amount of sth that you can hold between your finger and thumb
   一撮:
   a pinch of salt
   一撮盐
▪ at a 'pinch
(BrE) (NAmE in a 'pinch)
   used to say that sth could be done or used in a particular situation if it is really necessary
   必要时；不得已时:
   We can get six people round this table at a pinch.
   必要时,这张桌子可以坐六个人。
▪ take sth with a pinch of 'salt
   to be careful about believing that sth is completely true
   不完全相信；半信半疑
⇨ more at feel v.

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pinch

I. noun
Pinch is used before these nouns: runner

II. verb

• ADVERB gently, lightly | playfully | together Apply pressure to the nose by ~ing the nostrils firmly together.

• PREPOSITION between He ~ed the leaf between his thumb and forefinger. | on He ~ed me sharply on the arm.

Pinch is used with these nouns as the subject: shoe
Pinch is used with these nouns as the object: bum, nerve, nipple, nose

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pinch
 In addition to the idioms beginning with pinch, also see feel the pinch; in a pinch; with a grain of salt.
 * * *
 - pinch hitter
 - pinch pennies

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pinch noun
⇨ element 2

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pinch

verb
1 he pinched my arm harder
NIP ,
TWEAK , squeeze, compress, grasp.

2 my new shoes pinch my big toe
HURT , cause pain to, pain;
SQUEEZE , crush, cramp, chafe, confine; be uncomfortable, cause discomfort, be painful.

3 if I scraped and pinched a bit, I might manage
ECONOMIZE , be economical, scrimp, scrimp and save, cut corners, reduce wastage, skimp, stint, be sparing, be frugal, cut back, tighten one's belt, draw in one's horns, retrench, cut expenditure, cut one's coat according to one's cloth; be niggardly, be tight-fisted, be close; informal be stingy, be tight, be mingy.

4 he was pinched for drink-driving
ARREST , take into custody, apprehend, take prisoner, detain, seize, capture, catch, lay hold of, take in, haul in; informal collar, nab, pick up, run/pull in, nick, bust, nail, do, feel someone's collar.

5 you shouldn't have pinched his biscuits
STEAL , thieve, rob, take, snatch, pilfer, purloin, loot, rifle, abscond with, carry off; embezzle, misappropriate; informal walk off/away with, run away/off with, swipe, nab, rip off, lift, ‘liberate’, ‘borrow’, filch; Brit. informal nick, half-inch, whip, knock off, nobble, bone; N. Amer. informal heist, glom; Austral. informal snavel; W. Indian tief; archaic crib, hook.

noun
1 he gave her arm a pinch
NIP ,
TWEAK , squeeze.

2 a pinch of salt
SMALL QUANTITY , bit, touch, dash, spot, trace, soupçon, speck, taste; informal smidgen, smidge, tad.
at a pinch there's room for four adults, five at a pinch
IF NECESSARY ,
WITH DIFFICULTY , in case of necessity, if need be, in an emergency, just possibly; Brit. informal at a push.
feel the pinch the recession hit us hard and many of our customers have been feeling the pinch
SUFFER HARDSHIP , have less money, be short of money, be poor, be impoverished, suffer poverty, suffer adversity.
if it comes to the pinch if it comes to the pinch, he'll have to sell the car
IF THINGS GET BAD , if it comes to the push, in an emergency, in a crisis, in times of hardship, if one is in difficulty, in time of need, in case of necessity, if necessary.

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pinch 掐，拧，捏
来自盎格鲁诺曼法语*pinchier, 掐，拧，来自俗拉丁语*piccare, 刺，穿插，词源同peck, pick, pike.

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