as in to decide
to make final, definite, or beyond dispute
the rain clinched the matter: we would have the party indoors
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Recent Examples of clinch
Jeff Gluck, New York Times, 22 Aug. 2025
William Zepeda Breakdown Stevenson is active in the clinch.
—Trent Reinsmith, Forbes.com, 11 July 2025
Christian Romo, Freep.com, 10 Sep. 2025
The Crew, still the best team in baseball, is on the verge of clinching a spot in the playoffs.
—Hannah Kirby, jsonline.com, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clinch
Verb
After Stage 2, Reddick can adjust his strategy based on how many stage points Bowman has: If Bowman gets, say, 15 stage points, that moves Reddick’s clinch scenario down to getting a top-15.
—Jeff Gluck, New York Times, 22 Aug. 2025
William Zepeda Breakdown Stevenson is active in the clinch.
—Trent Reinsmith, Forbes.com, 11 July 2025
Noun
Put simply, the Tigers' magic number is the combined number of Tigers wins and losses from certain teams that would clinch one of the outcomes, whether that be a playoff appearance, a division title or a top seed in the playoffs.
—Christian Romo, Freep.com, 10 Sep. 2025
The Crew, still the best team in baseball, is on the verge of clinching a spot in the playoffs.
—Hannah Kirby, jsonline.com, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clinch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clinch
Verb
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Clinton has decided to join a direct rival even though City will not be competing in the Champions League this season.—
Charlotte Harpur,
New York Times,
6 Sep. 2025
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Related Stories When Ema disappears and tragedy is covered up, Daniel faces betrayal and decides to seek revenge before leaving.—
Emiliano De Pablos,
Variety,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
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After several Phillies fans attempted to grab the home-run ball, one fan secured it before walking back to his spot several seats over to give it to a young boy, dropping it in his glove and giving him a big hug.—
Bailey Richards,
PEOPLE,
6 Sep. 2025
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The hug was lying on the casket.—
Eric Adler,
Kansas City Star,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Science is never settled For decades, it was assumed that AHE was always spin-driven and only occurred in magnetic materials.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Sep. 2025
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Keough said her grandmother tried to settle Lisa Marie's estate less than 24 hours after her death in 2023.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Foster’s embrace of the label was not an accident; Armani had set up a specialist VIP dressing room on Rodeo Drive in the late ‘80s that stars could visit to be styled.—
Belinda Luscombe,
Time,
5 Sep. 2025
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The two embrace and appear surprised to see each other.—
Oren Liebermann,
CNN Money,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The Office of the Inspector General launched a criminal investigation and determined the shots had been fired from where two FBI agents and an Oregon State Police officer had been standing.—
Nicole Blanchard,
Idaho Statesman,
7 Sep. 2025
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The first thing her soon-to-be husband did was fly to North Carolina to bring their youngest daughter home from camp, determined to have the entire family together for the special day.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
7 Sep. 2025
Noun
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There was no massive attack and no other break points, apart from that perfect return game cameo that gave him a foothold.—
Tim Ellis,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
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Waymo will take its first foothold in the South Bay by launching robotaxi service at Mineta San Jose International Airport, after airport authorities authorized its operations at terminals.—
Ethan Baron,
Mercury News,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
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But multiple other Democratic districts were up for grabs, too.—
Mary Ramsey
Updated September 9,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Sep. 2025
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FashionPuzzle Triple Zip Small Crossbody Bag Over 25,000 five-star ratings prove the FashionPuzzle crossbody bag is a daily grab-and-go favorite.—
Rosie Marder,
Travel + Leisure,
9 Sep. 2025
Noun
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After allowing 18 chunk plays and nearly 600 yards of total offense against the Mountaineers, Charlotte’s defense found its footing against the Tar Heels.—
Hunter Bailey,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Sep. 2025
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This was Maxwell’s (classical) theory for electromagnetism, putting the previously distinct notions of electricity and magnetism together into a unified footing.—
Ethan Siegel,
Big Think,
9 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Clinch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clinch. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.
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