clinch

See also: Clinch

English

Etymology

16th-century alteration of clench.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /klɪntʃ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪntʃ

Verb

clinch (third-person singular simple present clinches, present participle clinching, simple past and past participle clinched)

1. To clasp; to interlock. [1560s]
2. To make certain; to finalize. [1716]

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

   • 2011 October 29, Neil Johnston, “Norwich 3 - 3 Blackburn”, in BBC Sport‎^[1]:

     Vincent Kompany was sent off after conceding a penalty that was converted by Stephen Hunt to give Wolves hope. But Adam Johnson's curling shot in stoppage time clinched the points.

3. To fasten securely or permanently.
4. To bend and hammer the point of (a nail) so it cannot be removed. [17th century]
5. To embrace passionately.
6. To hold firmly; to clench.
   • (Can we date this quote by Dryden and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     Clinch the pointed spear.

7. To set closely together; to close tightly.

   to clinch the teeth or the fist

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Jonathan Swift to this entry?)

Synonyms

• (fasten securely): attach, join, put together; see also Thesaurus:join
• (hold firmly): clasp, grasp, grip; See also Thesaurus:grasp

Translations

to clasp, to interlock

• Finnish: takertua, lukittua
• French: agrafer (fr)

• Russian: сда́вливать (ru) n (sdávlivatʹ), сжима́ть (ru) n (sžimátʹ), обнима́ть (ru) n (obnimátʹ)

to make certain, finalize

• Finnish: olla viimeinen niitti

to fasten securely or permanently

• Finnish: kiinnittää

to bend and hammer the point of so it cannot be removed

• Finnish: kotkata

to embrace passionately

• Finnish: halata

to hold firmly

• Finnish: puristaa

to set closely together

• Finnish: puristaa yhteen

Noun

clinch (plural clinches)

(Sense 6) One wrestler is trying to get the back.

1. Any of several fastenings.
2. The act or process of holding fast; that which serves to hold fast; a grip or grasp.

   to get a good clinch of an antagonist, or of a weapon

   to secure anything by a clinch

3. (obsolete) A pun.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Alexander Pope to this entry?)

4. (nautical) 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.
5. A passionate embrace.
   • 2015, Judith Arnold, Moondance

     More likely, he was letting her know that his visit this morning was not going to end in a clinch—or something steamier. It was going to be about sitting at a table, drinking coffee and talking.

6. In combat sports, the act of one or both fighters holding onto the other to prevent being hit or engage in standup grappling.

Translations

any of several fastenings

• Bulgarian: скоба (bg) f (skoba)
• French: attache (fr) f, fixation (fr) f

• Russian: зажи́м (ru) m (zažím), ско́ба (ru) f (skóba), заклёпка (ru) f (zakljópka), кле́мма (ru) f (klémma)

combat sports

• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Bulgarian: клинч m (klinč)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Dutch: please add this translation if you can
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: sidonta (fi)
• French: clinch (fr) m
• Greek:

  Ancient: ἅμμα n (hámma)

• Irish: greim m, géagáil f
• Italian: please add this translation if you can
• Japanese: please add this translation if you can
• Korean: please add this translation if you can
• Polish: klamra (pl) f
• Portuguese: clinche (pt) m, clinch m
• Russian: клинч (ru) m (klinč)
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can
• Thai: จับคอ

See also

• clinch on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• clench
• clincher
• clinch nut