From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Pinch \Pinch\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Pinched}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Pinching}.] [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.
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2. to seize; to grip; to bite; -- said of animals. [Obs.]
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He [the hound] pinched and pulled her down.
--Chapman.
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3. To plait. [Obs.]
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Full seemly her wimple ipinched was. --Chaucer.
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4. Figuratively: To cramp; to straiten; to oppress; to
starve; to distress; as, to be pinched for money.
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Want of room . . . pinching a whole nation. --Sir W.
Raleigh.
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5. To move, as a railroad car, by prying the wheels with a
pinch. See {Pinch}, n., 4.
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6. To seize by way of theft; to steal; to lift. [Slang]
--Robert Barr.
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7. to catch; to arrest (a criminal).
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Pinching \Pinch"ing\, a.
Compressing; nipping; griping; niggardly; as, pinching cold;
a pinching parsimony.
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{Pinching bar}, a pinch bar. See {Pinch}, n., 4.
{Pinching nut}, a check nut. See under {Check}, n.
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