1To hold something between two things, such as one's fingers or chopsticks — to grip an object from both sides.
箸で豆をうまく挟めなくて苦労した。
I had a hard time picking up the beans with chopsticks.
彼は鉛筆を耳に挟んで作業していた。
He worked with a pencil tucked behind his ear.
洗濯物をピンチで挟んで干した。
I clipped the laundry with clothespins to hang it out to dry.
2To put something between two things — for example, putting fillings between slices of bread to make a sandwich.
パンにレタスとハムを挟んでサンドイッチを作った。
I made a sandwich by putting lettuce and ham between slices of bread.
大切な書類の間にメモを挟んでおいた。
I inserted a note between the important documents.
本にしおりを挟んでおくと便利だ。
It's convenient to tuck a bookmark into a book.
3To get a finger or other body part caught between things, causing pain or injury — for example, catching one's finger in a door.
ドアに指を挟んでしまい、すごく痛かった。
I caught my finger in the door, and it really hurt.
引き出しに服の袖を挟んで破いてしまった。
I caught my sleeve in the drawer and tore it.
エスカレーターに靴ひもを挟まないよう注意してください。
Please be careful not to get your shoelace caught in the escalator.
4To interject a word or opinion in the middle of someone's talk — to butt into a conversation or discussion.
人の話にすぐ口を挟むのはやめなさい。
Stop butting in the moment someone starts talking.
議長は議論の途中で質問を挟んだ。
The chairperson interjected a question in the middle of the discussion.
彼は冗談を挟んで場を和ませた。
He lightened the mood by throwing in a joke.
5To be positioned on either side of something, such as a road or river — used in the pattern "with ~ in between."
川を挟んで向こう岸に公園が見える。
Across the river, you can see a park on the opposite bank.
大通りを挟んで両側にレストランが並んでいる。
Restaurants line both sides of the main street.
テーブルを挟んで彼らは向かい合って座った。
They sat facing each other with the table between them.
6To harbor a feeling such as doubt or unease — a figurative use, as in "to entertain doubt."
彼女は彼の説明に少し疑念を挟んでいるようだった。
She seemed to have some doubt about his explanation.
その証言には一点の疑いも挟む余地がなかった。
There was no room for even a shred of doubt about that testimony.
7In the game of Go, to play a stone that pincers an opponent's stone from both sides — a technical term usually written in katakana as ハサむ.
この手は相手の石をハサむ狙いがある。
This move aims to pincer the opponent's stone.