pinch

In recent months, major food processing companies have felt more than a slight pinch.

A pinched approximation of a muted trumpet suggests some kind of mutant jazz unfolding nearby, while unpredictable pitch changes conjure visions of a tape slipping off a spool.

I make a pinching motion with two fingers and a thumb.

She was a loyal friend, calm in a crisis, resourceful in a pinch, and optimistic to a fault.

Some of the faculty were asleep; others pinched their own cheeks to stay awake.