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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

clinch.

To bend and hammer the point of (a nail) so it cannot be removed.

6 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/klɪnt͡ʃ/
  1. To bend and hammer the point of (a nail) so it cannot be removed.

  2. To clasp; to interlock.

  3. To fasten securely or permanently.

  4. To make certain; to finalize.

    I already planned to buy the car, but the color was what really clinched it for me.
  5. To hold firmly; to clench

  6. To set closely together; to close tightly.

    to clinch the teeth or the fist
  7. To hold a boxing opponent with one or both arms so as to avoid being hit while resting momentarily

  8. To secure a spot (e.g., at the divisional championship) before the end of regular season play by having an insurmountable lead.

  9. To embrace passionately.

Where this word comes from

16th-century alteration of clench.

noun/klɪnt͡ʃ/
  1. Any of several fastenings.

  2. The act of bending and hammering the point of a nail so it cannot be removed.

  3. The act or process of holding fast; that which serves to hold fast.

    to get a good clinch of an antagonist, or of a weapon
    to secure anything by a clinch
  4. A pun.

    obsolete
  5. A hitch or bend by which a rope is made fast to the ring of an anchor, or the breeching of a ship's gun to the ringbolts.

  6. A passionate embrace.

  7. The act of one or both fighters holding onto the other to prevent being hit or engage in standup grappling.

  8. A prison sentence.

    archaic · slang
Where this word comes from

16th-century alteration of clench.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.