pincer movement
noun
1
: a military attack by two coordinated forces that close in on an enemy position from different directions
2
: a combination of two forces acting against an opposing force
Examples of pincer movement in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The teams then brief each other in their own temporal pincer movement.
—
Nate Jones, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2024
Cue the potential for a pincer movement swelling Meta’s messaging at Apple’s expense.
—Zak Doffman, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2024
Temporal pincer movement?
—Mary Colurso | McOlurso@al.com, al, 15 Sep. 2020
In the early stages of the war, Russia had converted Izyum into a military stronghold, eyeing the city as the base for a pincer movement that would surround Ukrainian forces in the east.
—Kamila Hrabchuk, Washington Post, 29 Dec. 2022
For decades, two armies of high-rises have been executing a slow-motion pincer movement along the East River, marching south from Long Island City and north from Williamsburg.
—Curbed, 14 Dec. 2022
Persians closed in from both ends of the pass in a classic pincer movement.
—Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 19 Dec. 2020
Moscow tried to seize the area in a pincer movement in the early days of the war and into the summer.
—Thomas Grove, WSJ, 8 Dec. 2022
Neoliberalism could be analogized to a large pincer movement, of which one prong is globalization and the other financialization, with neither able to function successfully without the other.
—Win McCormack, The New Republic, 23 Nov. 2022
Nate Jones, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2024
Cue the potential for a pincer movement swelling Meta’s messaging at Apple’s expense.
—Zak Doffman, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2024
Temporal pincer movement?
—Mary Colurso | McOlurso@al.com, al, 15 Sep. 2020
In the early stages of the war, Russia had converted Izyum into a military stronghold, eyeing the city as the base for a pincer movement that would surround Ukrainian forces in the east.
—Kamila Hrabchuk, Washington Post, 29 Dec. 2022
For decades, two armies of high-rises have been executing a slow-motion pincer movement along the East River, marching south from Long Island City and north from Williamsburg.
—Curbed, 14 Dec. 2022
Persians closed in from both ends of the pass in a classic pincer movement.
—Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 19 Dec. 2020
Moscow tried to seize the area in a pincer movement in the early days of the war and into the summer.
—Thomas Grove, WSJ, 8 Dec. 2022
Neoliberalism could be analogized to a large pincer movement, of which one prong is globalization and the other financialization, with neither able to function successfully without the other.
—Win McCormack, The New Republic, 23 Nov. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pincer movement.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1915, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near pincer movement
Cite this Entry
“Pincer movement.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pincer%20movement. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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