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| Date: | 1200-1300 |
| Origin: | From an unrecorded Old North French pinchier |
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pinch1
1 [transitive] to press a part of someone's skin very tightly between your finger and thumb, especially so that it hurts : 
We have to stop her pinching her baby brother.He pinched her cheek.
We have to stop her pinching her baby brother.He pinched her cheek.2 [transitive] British English informal to steal something, especially something small or not very valuable : Someone's pinched my coat!
Someone's pinched my coat!3 [transitive] to press something between your finger and thumb : Pinch the edges of the pastry together to seal it.
Pinch the edges of the pastry together to seal it.4 [intransitive and transitive] if something you are wearing pinches you, it presses painfully on part of your body, because it is too tight : Her new shoes were pinching.
Her new shoes were pinching.5 used when a situation is so surprising that the person involved needs to make sure that they are not imagining it : Sometimes she had to pinch herself to make sure it was not all a dream.
somebody has to pinch themselves
Sometimes she had to pinch herself to make sure it was not all a dream.6 [transitive usually passive] British English old-fashioned to arrest someone
pinch something ↔ out
phrasal verbPinch out any side shoots to make the plant grow upwards.
