Meanings
present singular third person feels the pinch · participle present feeling the pinch · participle past felt the pinch · past felt the pinch
- idiomaticinformalTo suffer a hardship, especially significant financial pressure.
Working-class families are feeling the pinch in the wake of the recession.
1 more example
The tramway was offered to the Dublin, Wicklow & Wexford Railway, but that company expressed no interest in it. Then the tramway proprietors decided to electrify their line, and cut the fares by half, and the railway was soon feeling the pinch.
1954 May, H. Fayle, “Dublin Suburban Services”, in Railway Magazine, page 300
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 手頭拮据 /手头拮据
- 手頭拮据 /手头拮据 (shǒutóu jiéjū)to suffer a hardship
Finnish tuntea nahoissaan
- tuntea nahoissaanto suffer a hardship
French peiner à joindre les deux bouts, devoir se serrer la ceinture
- peiner à joindre les deux boutsto suffer a hardship
- devoir se serrer la ceintureto suffer a hardship
Italian essere con l'acqua alla gola
- essere con l'acqua alla golato suffer a hardship
Polish odczuwać niedobór, odczuć niedobór
- odczuwać niedobórto suffer a hardship
- odczuć niedobórto suffer a hardship
Russian испы́тывать тру́дности, находи́ться в затрудни́тельном положе́нии
- испы́тывать тру́дностиto suffer a hardship
- находи́ться в затрудни́тельном положе́нии (naxodítʹsja v zatrudnítelʹnom položénii)to suffer a hardship
Spanish pasarlo mal, pasarlas canutas
- pasarlo mal, pasarlas canutasto suffer a hardship
Cite this entry
feel the pinch. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/feel%20the%20pinch
“feel the pinch.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/feel%20the%20pinch. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “feel the pinch,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/feel%20the%20pinch.
Source: feel the pinch on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.