penny-pinch

transitive verb

pen·​ny-pinch

ˈpenēˌpinch

: to give out money to in a niggardly manner

takes a sinister but fascinating kind of joy in … penny-pinching his own family

—James Yaffe

: deprive of funds by petty economy

penny-pinched himself out of … millions of dollars

—S. N. Behrman

Word History

Etymology

back-formation from penny pincher

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