clench

verb

ˈklench

clenched; clenching; clenches

Synonyms of clench next

transitive verb

: clinch sense 2

: to hold fast : clutch

clenched the arms of the chair

: to set or close tightly

clench one's teeth

clench one's fists

clench noun

Examples of clench in a Sentence

He clenched his teeth and continued to look straight ahead. He clenched his fists in anger. She was angry and spoke quietly through clenched teeth. His jaw clenched and unclenched as he listened to the speech. She danced alone, with a rose clenched in her teeth. He was clenching a cigarette in his teeth. See More

Recent Examples on the Web The study was born in 2016 when a wolf clenching a sea otter in its jaws trotted past NPS biologist Kelsey Griffin and her colleagues. —

Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 2 Nov. 2023 At some moments, her voice would bounce around the stage, berating her as her body clenched in horror. —

Kally Patz, Vogue, 20 Oct. 2023 Some allies, watching Mr. Giuliani down Scotch before leaving for Fox News interviews, would slip away to find a television, clenching through his rickety defenses of Mr. Trump. —

Maggie Haberman, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2023 Take the inadvertent clenching that people tend to do with running, for instance. —

Amber Brenza, SELF, 8 Sep. 2023 These headaches can be exacerbated by stress, clenching or grinding of the teeth, and muscle tension in the jaw area. —

Thomas J. Henry Personal Injury Law, Dallas News, 31 Aug. 2023 Suitcase Deadlift How to: Hold a weight with right hand, feet shoulder-width apart and left hand clenched in fist. —

Women's Health, 5 July 2023 The fighters trash-talked and clenched each other more often than landing punches, and referee Kenny Bayless had had enough after the sixth round. —

oregonlive, 12 June 2023 Dial the drive mode back to Normal, and the suspension relaxes its clenching tautness for the kind of smoothness needed for longer journeys. —

Mark Takahashi, Car and Driver, 16 May 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'clench.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.