pinched 1 of 2

pinched

2 of 2

verb

past tense of pinch
1
as in nipped
to squeeze tightly between two surfaces, edges, or points the zipper on those jeans always pinches me

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of pinched
Verb
Workers have been frantically building an emergency revetment — placing rocks on the coast to armor the shoreline against the waves — to shore up the roadway, located on a narrow strip of coastline pinched between the ocean and a cliff. — Robert Gauthier, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026 On the final play of the first quarter of Saturday’s preseason opener, backup quarterback Kyle Allen scrambled left and got pinched off near the sideline. — Tim Graham, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2026 Nerves are effectively long cables running from the spinal cord out to the skin and muscles, and like any cable, they can be pinched. — Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026 Many teachers and residents across the county are feeling pinched by Johnson County’s rising costs of living. — Taylor O'Connor 15, Kansas City Star, 15 July 2026 But the chairman also acknowledged how consumers are feeling pinched by years of high inflation. — Zach Halaschak, The Washington Examiner, 14 July 2026 This decline has pinched profit margins in the 401(k) world, said Kai Richter, an attorney with Cohen Milstein who has long specialized in ERISA class-action cases. — Paul Kiel, ProPublica, 8 July 2026 My thumb and index finger pinched together to grab a dime, while my middle finger reached farther to pick up coins that had rolled under the edge of a cabinet. — Steven Lautzenheiser, The Conversation, 6 July 2026 Paintings of Rush made in his lifetime depicted a man with flat hair and long, pinched features. — Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 3 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pinched
Adjective
  • The majority of vendors who participated chose a menu item to sell at a reduced price.
    — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Short-term savings can be offset by reduced innovation, weaker supply resilience or less favorable terms.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • But fans were alarmed by Love’s gaunt appearance and diminished singing voice.
    — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Apple was widely criticized in the late 2000s for not volunteering more information about Jobs’ health, especially as concerns about his gaunt appearance battered the company’s shares.
    — Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • And nipped any indication that Williams was taunting the 45-year-old coach in the bud.
    — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Cristopher Sanchez worked six effective innings to become the majors’ first 16-game winner as the Philadelphia Phillies nipped the visiting Miami Marlins 6-5 on Monday.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 18 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Thieves stole six bronze sculptures by Peter Gehring valued at over €100,000 ($114,000) from the garden of a museum near Munich.
    — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 24 Sep. 2026
  • In late August, a 24-year-old man allegedly stole a Cessna 172 from an airport in Hungary while intoxicated and flew toward the area of the country’s only nuclear power plant.
    — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 24 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Badio, considered a key suspect, was arrested in Haiti in October 2023 after being on the run for more than two years.
    — EVENS SANON, Arkansas Online, 21 Sep. 2026
  • And like him, the vast majority of those arrested during the blitz had no criminal record.
    — Andrew Carter, Chicago Tribune, 20 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Letter writers recalled how Paden saved his father’s life when a cow nearly stomped him to death in a field, after the elder Paden came between the cow and her calf.
    — Glenn Rice, Kansas City Star, 21 Sep. 2026
  • New players, new coach — Roberto De Zerbi was only hired in late March and saved the team from relegation — but the same old cultural problems?
    — ABC News, ABC News, 21 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • Leonard signed a four-year, $28 million sponsorship deal with Aspiration and was granted $20 million worth of equity in the now-bankrupt company.
    — Mike Prada, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
  • The production tracks the world’s richest woman returning to her bankrupt hometown with a billion-dollar rescue offer — on the condition that citizens execute her former lover — testing communal morality, complicity and corruption.
    — Jenelle Riley, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • Xbox, despite its increasingly haggard reputation, has announced backwards compatibility for PC.
    — Mitch Wallace, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026
  • Rocking back and forth nervously during a television appearance, a haggard-looking Diaz-Canel acknowledged the same talks, which his government had denied were taking place just days before.
    — Patrick Oppmann, CNN Money, 22 Mar. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Pinched.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pinched. Accessed 26 Sep. 2026.

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