squinch
To squint or scrunch up your eyes or face.
Also called squint, squinch up.
Updated September 24, 2026
squinch pronunciation
/SKWINCH/
Meaning
You squinch when the sun is too bright, the dust kicks up, or you are trying to see something far off. Eyes squeeze partway shut. Face can contort with it. Appalachian speech favors squinch over plain squint, and you will hear squinched up for the look itself.
How folks use it
- “Put a hat on. You're gonna give yourself a headache if you squinch like that all day.”
- “Sorry I didn't see you. I had my eyes all squinched up on account of the sun.”
Origin and etymology
Recorded in American English by the 1830s–1840s. Likely a blend of squint and pinch, or kin to older squink-eyed. Joseph Hall's Smoky Mountain collections and DARE both list it for mountain talk in Tennessee and North Carolina.