as in close
giving or sharing as little as possible
neighborhood kids who were trick-or-treating knew better than to bother to knock on that pinching couple's door
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in saving
the quality or practice of being overly sparing with money
this constant pinching is getting ridiculous—we can afford to turn on one or two lights!
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
2
as in stealing
to take (something) without right and with an intent to keep
pinched the earrings while the boutique owner was distracted by another customer
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in arresting
to take or keep under one's control by authority of law
pinched the purse snatcher just two blocks from where he had robbed the old lady
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in conserving
to avoid unnecessary waste or expense
if we pinch hard for the upcoming year, we can probably afford the vacation at that fancy resort
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 pinching
Isabel Garcia, People.com, 3 Sep. 2025
PC Magazine, 24 Aug. 2025
Hypernova will ship bundled with an sEMG wristband, codenamed Ceres, that reads muscle signals in the wrist to enable discreet gesture controls such as pinching.
—Charlie Fink, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
The ulnar collateral ligament in the hand stabilizes the base of the thumb, allowing for pinching and gripping.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 19 Aug. 2025
There’s a time and a place for dicing up cold butter, pinching it into the flour with your fingers, and rolling and folding to create the loftiest, flakiest layers.
—Josh Miller, Southern Living, 15 Aug. 2025
Harvesting your plants regularly or pinching back their leaves to a leaf node will make your plants more productive and bushier, and slow down flowering, which diminishes the flavor of the leaves.
—Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 13 Aug. 2025
Edita would stop by unannounced to remind them of this, pulling up in her shiny black Escalade, barking orders, and pinching their biceps with a precise and acrylic force that even Evie could feel.
—Literary Hub, 5 Aug. 2025
Noun
The shoes have a wide toe box with plenty of room for feet to spread out, which helps prevent painful pinching and accommodates foot issues.
—Isabel Garcia, People.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Verb
Otherwise, the Galaxy Watch 8 has Samsung’s One UI 8 interface on top of Wear OS 6 to put its own spin on interacting with your watch, with support for gesture controls to dismiss an alarm by twisting your wrist or take a picture by double-pinching your fingers.
—PC Magazine, 24 Aug. 2025
Hypernova will ship bundled with an sEMG wristband, codenamed Ceres, that reads muscle signals in the wrist to enable discreet gesture controls such as pinching.
—Charlie Fink, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
The ulnar collateral ligament in the hand stabilizes the base of the thumb, allowing for pinching and gripping.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 19 Aug. 2025
There’s a time and a place for dicing up cold butter, pinching it into the flour with your fingers, and rolling and folding to create the loftiest, flakiest layers.
—Josh Miller, Southern Living, 15 Aug. 2025
Harvesting your plants regularly or pinching back their leaves to a leaf node will make your plants more productive and bushier, and slow down flowering, which diminishes the flavor of the leaves.
—Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 13 Aug. 2025
Edita would stop by unannounced to remind them of this, pulling up in her shiny black Escalade, barking orders, and pinching their biceps with a precise and acrylic force that even Evie could feel.
—Literary Hub, 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pinching
Adjective
-
Musk and Gebbia have maintained a close professional relationship; Gebbia sits on Tesla’s board and was introduced to DOGE earlier this year through Musk.—
Heather Hunter,
The Washington Examiner,
3 Sep. 2025
-
Recent polling has shown Mamdani as the clear front-runner in the field, but the race gets closer when in a three-way contest with Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.—
Anna Commander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Congress decided to make daylight saving time permanent for two years from 1973 to 1975, extending the hours of daily sunlight year-round to conserve energy during the oil embargo crisis.—
Haadiza Ogwude,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Daylight saving time is the time between March and November when most Americans adjust their clocks ahead by one hour.—
Jalen Williams,
Freep.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
In the photo, Elordi stood behind Romy, holding a glass of wine as Romy stuck her tongue out at the camera.—
Escher Walcott,
PEOPLE,
8 Sep. 2025
-
The Packers controlled the line of scrimmage, holding the league’s top-scoring offense from 2024 to just 13 points.—
Zak Keefer,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The core of the game is stealing characters from other gamers.—
Annabelle Canela,
Parents,
5 Sep. 2025
-
From her start as a Fly Girl on the sketch comedy program In Living Color in the early ’90s to stealing scenes in Selena and The Wedding Planner, then topping charts with her debut album On the 6.—
Abby Montanez,
Robb Report,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Federal immigration authorities arresting a woman in downtown Los Angeles had their vehicle towed away by a tow truck driver who is accused of filming and laughing as one officer chased after him, according to court documents.—
Julia Marnin,
Sacbee.com,
2 Sep. 2025
-
The result is an arresting harmony of elegance and attitude, sculptural and bold, yet anchored in refinement.—
Felicity Carter,
Forbes.com,
1 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Across the three studies, positive associations emerged between happiness and real-world behaviors, such as recycling, conserving energy, signing up for newsletters on social issues, and taking steps to address environmental threats.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
-
The team used advanced 400 Wh/kg lithium battery pouches, conserving weight and space while maintaining energy density.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
1 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Both coaches and players have been respectful of the other team all week, careful not to produce any bulletin board material.—
Tom Murphy,
Arkansas Online,
5 Sep. 2025
-
Ben Lewis Doherty, playing a boy named Sam whose life is upended by Robbie, is the show’s greatest innocent, a softhearted moppet who warns deer to be careful when crossing the street.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Closing out the 2017 Oscars, Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty presented the Best Picture category, with La La Land as the frontrunner and Moonlight nipping at its heels.—
EW Staff,
EW.com,
1 Mar. 2025
-
The Panthers were able to prevent Pembroke from a clean sweep of both team championships, nipping the Titans for the girls crown by just nine points in the school standings with 69 overall.—
Brendan Connelly,
Boston Herald,
15 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pinching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pinching. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share