cinch

noun \ ˈsinch \

Definition of cinch

1 :a strap that holds a saddle on a horse

2 :a tight grip

3 a :a thing done with ease

Getting reelected would be a cinch for him.

b :a certainty to happen

it's a cinch he'll break the record

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See cinch defined for kids

Examples of cinch in a Sentence

This recipe is a cinch.
This dish is a cinch to make.

Recent Examples of cinch from the Web

As far as treatments go, this one is a cinch: one pill and the infection is gone!

— hannah orenstein, Seventeen, "What Are the Symptoms of Bacterial Vaginosis and How Do I Know if I Have It?," 23 Aug. 2017
The sleek silver Sous Chef is a cinch to use as well, and has a feeding tube large enough to hold a tomato or one-pound block of mozzarella.

— the good housekeeping institute, Good Housekeeping, "Breville the Sous Chef 12 #BFP660," 11 Aug. 2017
Fifteen hundred sheets of regular printer paper may seem like a cinch in comparison to crushing a bowling ball or an anvil, but paper is deceptively hardy.

— sophie weiner, Popular Mechanics, "The Hydraulic Press is Nearly Defeated By 1,500 Sheets of Paper," 28 July 2017
Luckily this tool eliminates the mess and makes perfect avocado slices a cinch.

— Indianapolis Star, "Calling All Avocado Lovers!," 30 June 2017
The GOP spent the entire Barack Obama presidency pretending as though passing major health care reforms would be a cinch, if only they were given the legislative space to turn their great ideas into law.

— brian beutler, New Republic, "Republicans Retreat to Their Favorite Health Care Safe Space," 30 June 2017
Even more impressions: Touching up these colors is a cinch.

— sable yong, Allure, "An Exclusive First Look At Nars' New Powermatte Liquid Lip Pigments," 20 June 2017
If all your parts are working properly, pumping your own gasoline is a cinch.

— paul sassone, chicagotribune.com, "Column: Is it progress, or just change?," 8 June 2017
In the end, a prosecutor should never seek to indict a president absent a lead-pipe cinch of a case.

— james hohmann, Washington Post, "The Daily 202: Trump White House might learn more from studying Whitewater than Watergate as Comey testifies," 8 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cinch.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of cinch

Spanish cincha, from Latin cingula girdle, girth, from cingere — more at cincture

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1859

See Words from the same year

cinch Synonyms

Synonyms

breeze, cake, cakewalk, child's play, cream puff, duck soup, kid stuff, picnic, pushover, roses, snap, piece of cake, walk in the park

Antonyms

bear, beast, chore, headache, horror show, killer, labor, murder, pain, sticky wicket, stinker [slang]

Related Words

no-brainer, nothing; sitting duck; gimme, laugher, walkaway

Near Antonyms

brainteaser, poser, stumper, toughie (also toughy); bother, nuisance, trouble

Other Equestrian Terms

canter, cantle, curry, farrier, hunter, paddock, router, skirt, tack

cinch

verb

Definition of cinch

transitive verb

1 a :to put a cinch on

cinch a horse

b :to fasten (something, such as a belt or strap) tightly

He cinched his belt tight.

2 :to make certain :assure

the goal that cinched the victory

intransitive verb

:to tighten the cinch —often used with up

cinched up before mounting his horse

See cinch defined for English-language learners

Examples of cinch in a Sentence

The coat is cinched at the waist.
The rider cinched the saddle.
The candidate cinched the nomination by winning the major primary elections.
The home run cinched the victory.

Recent Examples of cinch from the Web

Lewis cinched the deal by breaking into an impromptu comedy routine over the phone.

— george varga, sandiegouniontribune.com, "The late Jerry Lewis' ties to San Diego date back more than 60 years," 20 Aug. 2017
A Volkswagen of America spokesperson couldn’t provide additional comment but did confirm that the California agreement has cinched up the timeline for VW’s electric vehicles.

— bengt halvorson, Car and Driver, "Electric Charge: Here’s Volkswagen’s Launch Strategy for Its Mandated EVs," 13 July 2017
The cars towed trailers laden with canvas tents, surplus stoves, cinched bedrolls, and the like.

— craig r. mccoy / staff writer, Philly.com, "Horror on the mountain," 12 July 2017
A noose is thrown around the scarf and cinched tight.

— jacob silverman, New Republic, "The American Soldiers Who Grieved for Saddam Hussein," 2 June 2017
The first lady wore all black, with long sleeves and flared pants, cinched with a wide, metallic gold belt, while the first daughter sported a black-and-white dress with splashes of magenta.

— philip rucker, Washington Post, "Melania and Ivanka Trump, following tradition of western visitors, forgo headscarves in Saudi Arabia," 20 May 2017
Working with residents on the floor of a local nursing home cinched it for her.

— annysa johnson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Wisconsin schools push students to consider careers earlier, but does it make sense?," 16 May 2017
Although the suspect wore a green Miami Heat hoodie cinched tight around his face, his face was not concealed and is crystal clear in surveillance video recorded at the Weston bank.

— tonya alanez, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Thief syphons $5K from ATM, deputies say," 12 May 2017
The dress cinched at the waist and contained a full skirt and an impressive train.

— de elizabeth, Teen Vogue, "Zendaya Instagrams Met Gala Mini-Me," 7 May 2017

Origin and Etymology of cinch

see ¹cinch

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1866

See Words from the same year

cinch Synonyms

Synonyms

assure, ensure, guarantee, guaranty, ice, insure, secure

Related Words

attest, certify, vouch, warrant, witness; pledge, promise, swear

Near Antonyms

enfeeble, undermine, weaken

CINCH Defined for English Language Learners

cinch

noun

Definition of cinch for English Language Learners

: something that is very easy to do
—used to say that something will certainly happen or that someone will easily do something
: a strap that holds a saddle on a horse