as in clenches
to close or secure (something, such as a door) with a latch
latch the gate
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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
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As the infection takes hold, a patient’s jaw clenches, forcing the face into what appears to be a wide smile, and the back muscles contort into a painful arch.—
Mustafa Fattah,
NBC news,
24 Dec. 2025
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When the sky darkens, her stomach clenches.—
Alaa Elassar,
CNN Money,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Keeping that hardshell closed is a pair of wide, beefy aluminum latches with a lower swing arm that clasps to a closure bar via a pair of hooks.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
13 Dec. 2025
Verb
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An unsettled air now hangs over fashion weeks and flagship stores, where there should be excitement about new ideas.—
Rachel Tashjian,
CNN Money,
26 Jan. 2026
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And like everything that falls under the category of mockumentary, the shadow of the late, great Rob Reiner‘s gamechanging movie hangs over this faux-doc on the agony and XCX-stasy of being Charli.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
24 Jan. 2026
Verb
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House Bill 1002 also ties utility profits to performance metrics, including affordability and service restoration.—
Alexandra Kukulka,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Jan. 2026
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Stapleton has won three times in the past, which currently ties him with Kacey Musgraves, Josh Kear and Lori McKenna.—
Melissa Ruggieri,
USA Today,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Here, glycerin clinches the starring role, preventing moisture evaporation; it’s joined by supporting actor hyaluronic acid, whose specialty is all things fine lines (and their prompt erasure).—
Stacia Datskovska,
Footwear News,
13 Jan. 2026
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San Fran clinches playoff ticket with win or a loss by Lions.—
Greg Cote
December 18,
Miami Herald,
18 Dec. 2025
Verb
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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
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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
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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
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With that in mind, here are a few free agent options who could fit the Yankees if Bellinger bolts.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
14 Jan. 2026
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The canine then bolts across the field and is immediately chased by one horse, with about five more joining in moments later.—
MSNBC Newsweek,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Latches.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/latches. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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