pinch

/ˈpinch/

Middle English, from Anglo-French *pincher, pincer

verb

  1. to squeeze between the finger and thumb or between the jaws of an instrument

  2. to prune the tip of (a plant or shoot) usually to induce branching

  3. to squeeze or compress painfully

noun

  1. a critical juncture : emergency

  2. pressure, stress

  3. hardship, privation

juncture exigency emergency contingency pinch strait (or straits) crisis mean a critical or crucial time or state of affairs. juncture stresses the significant concurrence or convergence of events. exigency stresses the pressure of restrictions or urgency of demands created by a special situation.

adjective

  1. substitute

  2. hit by a pinch hitter

pinch runner