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| clinch |
| (© School Division, Houghton Mifflin Company) |
v., clinched, clinch·ing, clinch·es. v.tr.
- To fix or secure (a nail or bolt, for example) by bending down or flattening the pointed end that protrudes.
- To fasten together in this way.
- To settle definitely and conclusively; make final: "The cocktail circuit is a constant and more contracts are clinched over pâté than over paper" (Ann L. Trebbe).
- Sports. To secure (a divisional championship, for instance) before the end of regular season play by having an insurmountable lead.
- Nautical. To fasten with a clinch.
- To be held together securely.
- Sports. To hold a boxing opponent's body with one or both arms to prevent or hinder punches.
- Slang. To embrace amorously.
- Something, such as a clamp, that clinches.
- The clinched part of a nail, bolt, or rivet.
- Sports. An act or instance of clinching in boxing.
- Nautical. A knot in a rope made by a half hitch with the end of the rope fastened back by seizing. Also called clench.
- Slang. An amorous embrace.
[Variant of CLENCH.]






