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pinched for

idiom

Definition of pinched for

chiefly US, informal
: not having enough of (something)
  • Students are especially pinched for time at the end of the school year.
  • I'm pinched for cash right now.

Word by Word Definitions

pinch play pinched

  1. : to squeeze between the finger and thumb or between the jaws of an instrument

  2. : to prune the tip of (a plant or shoot) usually to induce branching

  3. : to squeeze or compress painfully

  1. : a critical juncture : emergency

  2. : pressure, stress

  3. : hardship, privation

  1. : substitute

  2. : hit by a pinch hitter

See the full definition of pinch

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