clench

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English clenchen, from Old English clenċan (“to clinch; hold fast”), a variant of Old English clenġan (“to adhere; remain”), from Proto-Germanic *klangijaną, causative of *klinganą (“to stick; adhere”). Related to cling. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /klɛnt͡ʃ/ Rhymes: -ɛntʃ === Verb === clench (third-person singular simple present clenches, present participle clenching, simple past and past participle clenched) (ambitransitive) To grip or hold fast. To close tightly. Alternative form of clinch (“bend and hammer a nail”). Dated form of clinch (“make certain, finalize”). 1875, Wilkie Collins, The Dead Secret (page 45) Captain Treverton, it is hardly necessary to say, was not long in clenching the bargain on his side. The estate changed hands; […] ==== Usage notes ==== In the vast majority of instances, this verb describes the action of a human or animal body part, usually the hand, fingers, fist, claws, jaw, teeth, buttocks, or anus. While such body parts may be said to clench another object, such as a knife clenched in the teeth, it is rare to suggest that an inanimate object such as a vise is itself engaged in clenching. In these cases, a synonym such as clamp, clasp, squeeze, or constrict would be more idiomatic. ==== Synonyms ==== (grip or hold tightly): clasp, clutch, grip; See also Thesaurus:grasp ==== Antonyms ==== unclench ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Noun === clench (plural clenches) A tight grip. Alternative form of clinch (“the act of bending and hammering the point of a nail so it cannot be removed”). (engineering) A seal that is applied to formed thin-wall bushings. A local chapter of the Church of the SubGenius parody religion. (obsolete) A pun. Synonym: clinch ==== Translations ==== === References === “clench”, in OneLook Dictionary Search. William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin Eli Smith, editors (1895–1910), “clench”, in The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia: […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.