as in decides
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 clinches
John Towfighi, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2025
Noun
Dow clinches record high The Dow on Friday clinched its first closing record high of the year.
—John Towfighi, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clinches
Verb
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In an interview with Variety in April 2023, Coelen shared that the crew often decides who will reveal their decision first at the altar.—
Samantha Stutsman,
PEOPLE,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Snoopy decides to cook his own version of a Thanksgiving meal with help from his friends.—
Tanya Wildt,
Freep.com,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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This is the real-world psychology that determines relationship success or failure, and many matchmakers overlook these deeper patterns.—
Connie Etemadi,
USA Today,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Congress, the legislative branch of the federal government, determines how to fund departments in the executive branch.—
John Tufts,
IndyStar,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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But today, Don Swift settles all family business.—
Rolling Stone,
Rolling Stone,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Get a FanCash refund if your bet settles as a loss.—
Tyler Everett,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Whereas the 2025 best new artist competition was unusually stacked, the 2026 trophy appears fully up for grabs, with very few sure-thing nominees by the time the eligibility period closed at the end of August.—
Jason Lipshutz,
Billboard,
2 Oct. 2025
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His 282 receiving yards lead the team, as do his 11 first-down grabs.—
Mike Jones,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Clinches.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clinches. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
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