as in deciding
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 clinching
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
In a battle of the world’s top two players, Alcaraz defeated Jannik Sinner 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the final in New York, clinching his overall sixth Grand Slam title.
—Manasi Pathak, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
After Thursday’s live eviction episode, the houseguests competed in an HOH comp, with the winner earning power and clinching a spot in jury.
—David Wysong, The Enquirer, 30 Aug. 2025
Minnesota is one victory away from clinching the top spot despite still having seven games to play.
—Grant Afseth, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025
The Love That Remains world premiered in the non-competitive Cannes Premiere section this year, clinching a peripheral prize for its canine cast member, sheepdog Panda, who beat 24 other candidates to win the Palm Dog.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 27 Aug. 2025
SpaceX’s Starship rocket on Tuesday deployed its first batch of mock Starlink satellites in space and tested new heat shield tiles on its plunge through Earth’s atmosphere, clinching development milestones that had been held up by a streak of previous testing failures.
—Reuters, NBC news, 27 Aug. 2025
The Royals took three of four from the Rangers, a 6-4 win Thursday clinching their seventh series victory out of nine since the All-Star break, which is a stretch that covers an AL-best 19-12 record.
—Kansas City Star, 22 Aug. 2025
In a distant second place, Rory McIlroy is currently listed at +850 to win, projecting a roughly 10 percent chance of the Masters champion clinching this title.
—Hannah Vanbiber, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025
Hannah Kirby, jsonline.com, 10 Sep. 2025
In a battle of the world’s top two players, Alcaraz defeated Jannik Sinner 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the final in New York, clinching his overall sixth Grand Slam title.
—Manasi Pathak, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
After Thursday’s live eviction episode, the houseguests competed in an HOH comp, with the winner earning power and clinching a spot in jury.
—David Wysong, The Enquirer, 30 Aug. 2025
Minnesota is one victory away from clinching the top spot despite still having seven games to play.
—Grant Afseth, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025
The Love That Remains world premiered in the non-competitive Cannes Premiere section this year, clinching a peripheral prize for its canine cast member, sheepdog Panda, who beat 24 other candidates to win the Palm Dog.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 27 Aug. 2025
SpaceX’s Starship rocket on Tuesday deployed its first batch of mock Starlink satellites in space and tested new heat shield tiles on its plunge through Earth’s atmosphere, clinching development milestones that had been held up by a streak of previous testing failures.
—Reuters, NBC news, 27 Aug. 2025
The Royals took three of four from the Rangers, a 6-4 win Thursday clinching their seventh series victory out of nine since the All-Star break, which is a stretch that covers an AL-best 19-12 record.
—Kansas City Star, 22 Aug. 2025
In a distant second place, Rory McIlroy is currently listed at +850 to win, projecting a roughly 10 percent chance of the Masters champion clinching this title.
—Hannah Vanbiber, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clinching
Verb
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Palmer was part of a movement deciding to try something else instead of college.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
14 Sep. 2025
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When deciding costumes, Heimann worked with Crowe to create scene-specific outfits, assembling a closet of clothes for each character.—
Meredith Wilshere,
PEOPLE,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The dating technique used on the eggs, known more formally as carbonate uranium-lead, or U-Pb, dating, is a common process for determining the age of carbonate minerals — those containing calcium, iron, manganese and magnesium.—
Mindy Weisberger,
CNN Money,
12 Sep. 2025
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The next 12 months of emerging data from AI drug development startups will be critical in determining how successful these companies stand to be, Schoenhaus said.—
Sasha Rogelberg,
Fortune,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Klarna popped as much as 30% on the day of its New York IPO, before settling to close around 15% higher.—
Ryan Browne,
CNBC,
15 Sep. 2025
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The sixth-year quarterback spent most of the game scanning downfield with good protection, finding nothing and settling for shorter throws.—
Brooks Kubena,
New York Times,
15 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Clinching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clinching. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
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