Synonyms of pinching

pinching 1 of 3

adjective

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

• close
• careful
• tight
• selfish
• greedy
• sparing
• miserly
• conserving
• mean
• stingy
• desirous
• cheap
• spare
• saving
• ungenerous
• tightfisted
• parsimonious
• penny-pinching
• penurious
• stinting
• uncharitable
• chintzy
• small
• closefisted
• pinchpenny
• mingy
• economical
• economizing
• grasping
• chary
• scrimping
• frugal
• covetous
• thrifty
• skimping
• itchy
• avaricious
• acquisitive
• mercenary
• envious
• begrudging
• grudging
• coveting
• sordid
• shabby
• rapacious
• resentful
• avid
• hoggish
• inhospitable

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• generous
• liberal
• bountiful
• charitable
• unstinting
• openhanded
• bounteous
• munificent
• unsparing
• free
• unselfish
• extravagant
• selfless
• altruistic
• profuse
• lavish
• handsome
• overgenerous
• benevolent
• freehanded
• philanthropic
• hospitable
• humanitarian
• beneficent
• wasting
• kindly
• compassionate
• magnanimous
• wasteful
• profligate
• spendthrift
• dissipating
• unthrifty
• prodigal
• openhearted
• squandering
• good-hearted
• greathearted
• splurging
• frittering
• thriftless

pinching

2 of 3

noun

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

• saving
• economizing
• economy
• tightness
• managing
• cheapness
• stinginess
• miserliness
• conserving
• providence
• closeness
• parsimony
• penny-pinching
• cheeseparing
• husbanding
• conservation
• tightfistedness
• penuriousness
• thrift
• frugality
• scrimping
• skimping
• husbandry

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• generosity
• liberality
• bounty
• unselfishness
• philanthropy
• extravagance
• largesse
• dissipation
• openhandedness
• lavishness
• bountifulness
• squandering
• wastefulness
• prodigality
• openheartedness
• improvidence

pinching

3 of 3

verb

present participle of pinch

1

as in holding

to squeeze tightly between two surfaces, edges, or points

the zipper on those jeans always pinches me

Synonyms & Similar Words

• holding
• nipping
• clasping
• clutching
• grasping
• gripping
• crimping
• taking
• tweaking

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• dropping
• releasing
• springing
• freeing
• loosening
• loosing

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

• stealing
• swiping
• lifting
• grabbing
• nipping
• robbing
• pilfering
• snatching
• nicking
• thieving
• filching
• pocketing
• appropriating
• hooking
• snitching
• purloining
• misappropriating
• ripping off
• boosting
• picking
• taking
• running off with
• making off with
• hijacking
• seizing
• plundering
• making away with
• sacking
• heisting
• walking off with
• looting
• pillaging
• grasping
• knocking over
• burglarizing
• rifling
• poaching
• shoplifting
• rustling
• nailing
• abducting
• collaring
• sponging
• kidnapping
• mooching
• spiriting
• carjacking
• shanghaiing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• buying
• purchasing
• giving
• contributing
• presenting
• donating
• bestowing
• handing over

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

• arresting
• seizing
• grabbing
• restraining
• apprehending
• detaining
• nicking
• capturing
• nailing
• snatching
• busting
• committing
• running in
• pulling in
• nabbing
• catching
• trapping
• collaring
• jailing
• imprisoning
• picking up
• confining
• bagging
• hooking
• snaring
• holding
• incarcerating
• grappling
• binding
• handcuffing
• getting
• landing
• snapping (up)
• locking (up)
• shackling
• interning
• fettering
• jugging
• immuring
• enchaining
• remanding
• trammeling
• manacling
• rearresting

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• discharging
• springing
• releasing
• loosening
• freeing
• loosing
• liberating
• emancipating
• unbinding
• unchaining

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

• saving
• conserving
• sparing
• economizing
• managing
• scrimping
• skimping
• preserving
• scraping
• pinching pennies
• maintaining
• hoarding
• husbanding
• cutting down
• cutting back
• retrenching
• laying up

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• wasting
• spending
• blowing
• squandering
• dissipating
• running through
• lavishing
• throwing away
• frittering (away)
• misspending
• splurging

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of pinching

Noun

The Supportive Comfort Wireless Shaping Bra gives you wire-free lift with no pinching or poking. — ABC News, 4 Sep. 2026

Bali Double-Support Wireless Bra The bra’s signature M-frame creates a sturdy structure that supports your chest sans underwire — thereby avoiding any digging, pinching, or poking throughout the day. — Clara McMahon, PEOPLE, 22 Aug. 2026

Why Perennials Need Pruning Flowers-Kimmerle explains that deadheading, pinching, and cutting back are all forms of perennial pruning. — Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 19 Aug. 2026

Avoid the inevitable pinching and riding up by opting for a more sophisticated silhouette, like the Willit Tailored Linen Shorts. — Sophie Dodd, Travel + Leisure, 1 Aug. 2026

This pair has an identical strap design to Stewart’s style, made of a knit fabric to minimize uncomfortable rubbing and pinching. — Genevieve Cepeda, InStyle, 18 July 2026

The headband is flexible for a perfect fit, and the adjustable earcups have plush cushioning to prevent pinching. — Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 26 June 2026

The penny pinching doesn’t exactly translate with the NBA, a players’ league and one where market size to elevate brand is difficult in Portland. — Maury Brown, Forbes.com, 20 May 2026

The result is a weeknight-friendly meal with no need for folding and pinching. — Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 29 Apr. 2026

Verb

There was little question about it as Fleetwood fans woke up Wednesday still pinching themselves following one of the biggest upsets in the Cup’s 66-year history. — ABC News, 28 Oct. 2026

Movement of the cell’s membrane – driven by its internal cytoskeleton – will bend and wrap around the invading particle, pinching off a tiny bubble that carries it inside. — Karin Wuertz-Kozak, The Conversation, 27 Oct. 2026

Maybe Britani was pinching those people in the airport to get in their wills too. — Tom Smyth, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2026

Pick leaves by gently pinching from the top down, which encourages fuller growth and prevents legginess. — Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 19 Sep. 2026

And Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s largest oil producers, shut down its pipeline across the Arabian Peninsula to the Red Sea, an alternative route for its oil, as a precaution, pinching the world’s supply of oil even more. — Frank Witsil, Freep.com, 14 Sep. 2026

Deadhead the dead flowers by hand, pinching and twisting the blooms away from the stems. — Ashley Chalmers, The Spruce, 8 Sep. 2026

If the mushroom stalks have a tough outer layer, lightly peel them by pinching the skin at the base of the stalk and pulling it upward toward the cap. — Laura McLively, Mercury News, 7 Sep. 2026

This popular wireless bra uses an elastic band in place of hardware to support your chest without digging or pinching into your skin. — Clara McMahon, PEOPLE, 21 Aug. 2026