pinch
part of speech
verb (pinch, pinches, pinched, pinching); noun (a pinch, pinches)
meaning for a pupil
1) To press something tightly between your thumb and finger, sometimes in a way that hurts someone. tree →
2) A pinch is a very small amount of something you can hold between your finger and thumb, like a pinch of salt. tree →
3) Informal British: to steal something small: someone pinched my rubber. tree →
4) Shoes that pinch are too tight and hurt. tree →
5) "In a pinch" (US) or "at a pinch" (UK) means if really needed. tree →
6) To pinch a part of your body can also mean to get it caught and squeezed, such as in a door. tree →
sense in the lessons
In cooking, a pinch of salt or spice is a tiny amount, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. In first aid, you pinch the soft part of your nose to stop a nosebleed. In everyday life, pinching people is unkind and hurts; keep hands to yourself. In stories, "pinch me, I'm dreaming" means something is so good it seems unreal. In science, crabs pinch with their claws. Phrases: "a pinch of salt", "pinch me", "take it with a pinch of salt" (don't fully believe it), "at a pinch", "feel the pinch" (have less money).
examples
- Add a pinch of salt to the soup. tree →
- Pinch the soft part of your nose to stop the bleeding. tree →
- It's not kind to pinch your brother. tree →
- The crab pinched my toe with its claw. tree →
- These shoes pinch my toes; they're too small. tree →
- Who pinched my pencil? tree →
- Pinch me — did we really win? tree →
- Take that rumour with a pinch of salt. tree →
- The door opened with difficulty, and the boy pinched his fingers. tree →
note
Third person: pinches (add -es after ch). In recipes "a pinch" is not an exact measurement, just a very small amount. "Pinch" meaning steal is informal, mostly British, Irish and Australian. Do not confuse with "punch" (hit with a fist).
In the corpora
- Copper slowly reacts with air and goes dull brown; vinegar with a pinch of salt makes a dull coin shiny again.
- Lick a lemon and it is sour; taste a tiny pinch of baking soda and it is bitter and soapy.
- Add a splash of vinegar and it turns pink; add a pinch of baking soda and it turns blue-green.
- Schools teach the tripod grip: the pencil pinched between thumb and first finger, resting on the middle finger, near the tip.
- Keep fingers clear of the folding parts of recliners and folding chairs, because they pinch and crush.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «pinch» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.