Pincer

//ˈpɪnsəɹ// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Any object that resembles one half of a pair of pincers.
  2. 2
    a grasping structure on the limb of a crustacean or other arthropods wordnet
  3. 3
    a hand tool for holding consisting of a compound lever for grasping wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To surround with a pincer attack. figuratively, sometimes, transitive

    "After considering all frontal counteroffensive alternatives, Heublein rejected them as detrimental to its profits and came up with a brilliant pincering maneuver. It raised the price of Smirnoff by one dollar, effectively preventing segment diffusion, […]"

Synonyms

All synonyms
astringentchelaclampclawclawnipper

Example

More examples

"If we hang around here any longer, there could be reinforcements coming from the second gate to take us in a pincer movement!"

Etymology

From Middle English pynsor, from Old French pinceure, pinchure, from pincier (“to pinch”).

Related phrases

pincer attackpincer gatepincer movementpincer attack

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.