EN

Synonyms for pinch

87 synonyms
1 antonym
8 meanings

noun
verb

Most common

hint rub speck smidge tight spot pickle push tweak

Synonyms by meaning

Noun

1. Touch — A small amount of powder or granules, such that the amount could be held between fingertip and thumb tip

touch, smidge, dash, rub, speck, bit, hint, drop, dab, jot, mite, tad, modicum, grain, fleck, tinge, ounce, ace, dot, mote, morsel, scruple

2. Tight spot — an awkward situation of some kind (especially money or social) which is difficult to escape

tight spot, difficulty, spot, predicament, pickle, hole, bind, jam, sticky wicket, mess

3. Crowbar — A metal bar used as a lever for lifting weights, rolling wheels, etc

crowbar, nail bar

4. Emergency

emergency, exigency

Other

tweak, push, collar, catch, cramp, crisis, arrest, rip-off, strait

Verb

1. Nip — to steal, usually something inconsequential

nip, lift, swipe, make off with, pilfer, pocket, boost, walk off with, snag, hook, steal, bag, sneak, snatch, rob, borrow, nick, cop, appropriate, abstract, swindle, snitch dated

2. Squeeze

squeeze, twitch, twinge dated

3. Grasp — to arrest or capture

get, take, grasp, bust, seize, capture, distress

4. Cut it fine — to be stingy or covetous; to live sparingly

cut it fine, scrimp, skimp

Other

wring, crimp, top, compress, rail, grumble, gripe dated

Antonyms

All antonyms of pinch →

Definitions

n. 1
A small amount of powder or granules, such that the amount could be held between fingertip and thumb tip.
Mix about four cups of white flour with a pinch of salt.
n. 2
An awkward situation of some kind (especially money or social) which is difficult to escape.
v. 1
To steal, usually something inconsequential.
Someone has pinched my handkerchief!
v. 2
To arrest or capture.

Related words

Word family: pincher pinchfist pinch-me-round pinchpenny pinch-belly pinch-commons pinch-gut
Phrases: pinch a loaf pinch one off pinch pennies at a pinch in a pinch theta pinch

Forms

Plural: pinches → touches, smidges, dashes, rubs…
Past participle: pinched
e.g. pinched → nipped, lifted, swiped, pilfered…

Example sentences

hint Tom gets angry at the slightest hint of criticism.
rub Children often rub their eyes when they are tired.
speck There wasn't even a speck of dust on the table.
smidge Don't leave even a smidge, eat it all up.
pickle Don't wave that pickle at me while you're talking!

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
pinch		steady
hint		rising
rub		rising
speck		rising
smidge		steady

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters: get¹, top¹, bit¹, bag¹, cop¹, rob¹, jam¹, ace¹, rub¹, dot¹, tad¹, dab¹, nip¹, jot¹
4 letters: take¹, drop¹, spot¹, push¹, hole¹, mess¹, nick¹, lift¹, hook¹, rail¹, hint¹, dash¹, bust¹, bind¹
5 letters: touch¹, catch¹, boost¹, steal¹, grain¹, sneak¹, grasp¹, ounce¹, seize¹, swipe¹, tweak¹, speck¹, cramp¹, tinge¹
6 letters: crisis², arrest², pocket², collar², borrow², twitch¹, strait¹, snatch¹, pickle², snitch¹, morsel², twinge¹, smidge, pilfer²
7 letters: capture², squeeze¹, grumble², modicum³, crowbar², swindle², scruple²
8 letters: abstract², distress², compress², exigency⁴
9 letters: emergency⁴
10 letters: difficulty⁴
11 letters: appropriate⁴, predicament⁴

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (crisis² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français: pincée
Italiano: pizzico
Deutsch: Preise