clinch

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to settle conclusively

   They clinched the deal.

2. 2
   verb

   to flatten the ends of nails and rivets

   They clinched the nails to secure the floorboards.

3. 3
   verb

   to secure or fasten by flattening the ends of nails or bolts

   The girder was clinched into the wall.

4. 4
   verb

   To clasp; to interlock.

   “Beloved shipmates, clinch the last verse of the first chapter of Jonah—‘And God had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah.’”

5. 5
   verb

   To make certain; to finalize.

   I already planned to buy the car, but the color was what really clinched it for me.

6. 6
   verb

   To set closely together; to close tightly.

   to clinch the teeth or the fist

7. 7
   verb

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

   It put the U.S. on the brink of clinching a spot in the quarterfinals.

8. 8
   noun

   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

Etymology

16th-century alteration of clench.