scrinchv.
/skrɪntʃ/, U.S. /skrɪntʃ/ U.S.
1. intransitive. With adverbs. To squeeze or contract one's body into a crouched or huddled position; to huddle up; to crouch down; to squeeze over. Cf. scrunch v. 2c.In quot. 1870: to sit closely together.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > posture > act of drawing body into compact form > drawn into compact form [verb (intransitive)]
shrinkc1000
forcrempa1250
squinch1843
scrinch1870
scrunch1884
square1897
scrouge1905
curl1910
1870 A. D. T. Whitney We Girls vi. 108 Nor have to scrinch all up..for fear she'd touch us!
1977 W. D. Myers Mojo & Russians ii. 27 I was scrinching down because I'm tall for my age.
1984 L. Uris Haj i. xix. 144 I scrinched up into a ball so I wouldn't be discovered.
2005 D. E. Westlake Watch your Back! xl. 230 He scrinched over to the side so Porfirio could climb past him.
2. transitive. To distort or screw up (the face or features); to narrow (the eyes). Also intransitive. Frequently (and in earliest use) with up.
ΚΠ
1875 R. W. Bigham Vinny Leal's Trip to Golden Shore (new ed.) ii. 39 Twitching my lips as if about to whine, and ‘scrinching up’ my face.
1960 Bristol (Pa.) Daily Courier 14 Sept. 13/1 He scrinched his eyes against that searing brightness.
1969 Bensenville (Illinois) Reg. 20 Oct. 6/2 Noses were made to scrinch up and faces twist up when they laugh.
2014 M. Young Raging Star (2015) 155 Her face scrinches in misery.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
v.1870