clench 1 of 2

noun

Definition of clenchnext
as in grip
the act or manner of holding fearful that his suitcase might be stolen, he never once relaxed his clench on the handle

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

clench

2 of 2

verb

ˈklench How to pronounce clench (audio)
as in to grip
to have or keep in one's hands clenched a tissue in his hands as he told his story of misfortune

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of clench
Noun
Brazilian democracy has spent the past three years in a near-permanent state of tension – a full-body clench against an ex-president who refused to accept defeat. — Julia Vargas Jones, CNN Money, 25 Nov. 2025 The Cleveland Guardians beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-4, on Thursday night in Game 4 of the ALDS, tying the series and setting up a clench-your-teeth, hold-your-breath series finale. — Ryan Ford, Freep.com, 6 Oct. 2025
Verb
The fellow fan seemingly signaled so, as the heir to the throne clenched his hand into a festive fist pump. — Janine Henni, PEOPLE, 17 June 2026 As the ball landed safely on the other side of the left field fence at Nationals Park on Monday, Dylan Crews clenched his fists and let out a scream. — Danielle Allentuck, Washington Post, 16 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for clench
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clench
  1. grip
  2. clutch
  3. grasp
  4. hold
  5. grab
Noun
  • The basketballs themselves are also protected from unnecessary surface wear and tear with the Carry’s non-friction delivery system (supports size 6 and 7 balls) that helps the basketball keep grip through continual training.
    — Shirl Leigh July 13, New Atlas, 13 July 2026
  • At 15 years old, Boubacar Sidibe already had a good grip on this firefighting stuff at Monday's first day of camp.
    — Noel Brennan, CBS News, 13 July 2026
Definition of grip
Verb
  • The small, seemingly insignificant experience of controlling an automobile by clutching and levering its gears turned out to be deeply meaningful.
    — Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 7 July 2026
  • The 29-year-old had been clutching at a spot near his right oblique and even doubled over, clearly struggling, after forcing deuce.
    — Ava Wallace, New York Times, 5 July 2026
Definition of clutch
Noun
  • The collaboration builds on several NVIDIA resources already available through LeRobot, including an open-source physical AI dataset containing more than 350,000 real and simulated robot trajectories and 57 million grasp examples.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 9 July 2026
  • In comparison, the Sparks, without an offensive rebound until the end of the third quarter, were forced to make perfect shots, though that was far from the team’s grasp.
    — Liana Handler, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2026
Definition of grasp
Verb
  • Kansas City’s World Cup hosting duties have ended, but the city is guaranteed to have a presence in the championship game with Argentina and England holding base camps in KC.
    — Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 12 July 2026
  • But even if you’re tempted to drown your chicken in the sweet and savory cranberry barbecue sauce, try to hold a little back.
    — Justin Brown, AJC.com, 12 July 2026
Definition of hold
Verb
  • With the back tyre in the water, grab the front brake and stand up off the bike.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 13 July 2026
  • Ethiopian content creator Kalu Putik has grabbed the attention of the fashion world with his outfits made from old clothes, shoes, and garbage scraps.
    — Jenny Vaughan, semafor.com, 13 July 2026
Definition of grab

Browse Nearby Words

clemently
clench
clenched
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Cite this Entry

“Clench.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clench. Accessed 16 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on clench

Nglish: Translation of clench for Spanish Speakers

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