as in clenches
to close or secure (something, such as a door) with a latch
latch the gate
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
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 latches
Typically said when someone copies a trend, latches onto a friend's obsession, or just teases in a playful way.
—
Annabelle Canela, Parents, 5 Sep. 2025
That against-the-odds spirit is what the documentary crew latches onto as the thread tying their story together.
—Andy Meek, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Annabelle Canela, Parents, 5 Sep. 2025
That against-the-odds spirit is what the documentary crew latches onto as the thread tying their story together.
—Andy Meek, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for latches
Verb
-
When the sky darkens, her stomach clenches.—
Alaa Elassar,
CNN Money,
1 Oct. 2025
-
In a similar way, a man who is defiant stiffens his neck, squares his shoulders, lowers his brows, and clenches his fists with his knuckles forward.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
23 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
On the chain around Hedda Gabler’s neck hangs a key to her father’s gun case.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
28 Oct. 2025
-
After the basketball game ended, the Raptors put the World Series game on the big screen that hangs over the court at Scotiabank Arena.—
Eric Koreen,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The law ties the amount to a statistic called the Payment Error Rate -- the official measure of accuracy -- whether states are giving recipients either too much, or too little, in food stamp money.—
James Sneed,
NPR,
31 Oct. 2025
-
The moment was even more special as Swift herself was in the crowd to cheer on the tight end, who now ties Priest Holmes for the most regular-season TDs in the Chiefs’ history.—
Hannah Dailey,
Billboard,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The winner of this game clinches a share of the league championship.—
Michael Huntley,
Oc Register,
23 Oct. 2025
-
The win clinches the team’s berth in the World Series, but its opponent has not been decided.—
Phil Helsel,
NBC news,
18 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The sequencer pastes together the strings and the quality scores, along with some other metadata, read by read, to form what is called a FASTQ file.—
Dmitri Pavlichin,
IEEE Spectrum,
22 Aug. 2018
Verb
-
This is an adjustable graphics-card brace, and its screw tightens the part that clamps it to the slide.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
21 Oct. 2025
-
Here, Lloyd clamps a muzzle — part fetish club, part Bane — over Lucky’s mouth while Pozzo pushes him in a wheelchair (the actor, Michael Patrick Thornton, uses a chair).—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Parsley is a biennial that quickly bolts and dies the second year, and since second-year parsley is bitter, it’s typically grown as an annual.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Uchis has built a reputation as a bilingual and genre-fluid artist who bends musical boundaries with ease.—
Isabela Raygoza,
Billboard,
16 Oct. 2025
-
According to Einstein, massive objects shape the space around them, as their gravity bends space-time, curving paths of light rays near by.—
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry,
Space.com,
10 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Latches.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/latches. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share