as in clenching
to close or secure (something, such as a door) with a latch
latch the gate
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Recent Examples of latching
Leslie Mann delivers a heartwarming performance as a woman drifting through a midlife reset, latching onto two college students locked in a subtle competition for her attention.
—
Ana Gutierrez, Austin American Statesman, 20 Mar. 2026
The strategy is paying off, with an increasing number of listeners latching onto Toledo’s great versions of these soul/pop/R&B classics.
—Jim Harrington, Mercury News, 10 Mar. 2026
Fifth-place Monaco grabbed a second goal 10 minutes into the second half when midfielder Aleksandr Golovin, who had just come on, slid the ball into the bottom corner after latching onto a cross from the right.
—ABC News, 6 Mar. 2026
Now, some are latching onto the wave of anti-OpenAI sentiment to voice broader critiques of the company.
—Frank Landymore, Futurism, 5 Mar. 2026
As Ngumoha continued to threaten in the minutes that followed, Mac Allister would not be denied a second time, latching onto a loose ball in the box to secure victory.
—Gregg Evans, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2026
One very funny snippet has Elvis giving a sweet peck on the cheek to a little girl at the lip of the stage followed by what appears to be her big sister latching her lips onto him like a mollusk before being peeled off by her mother.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 16 Feb. 2026
Naval warfare goes a bit clingy as Lockheed Martin unveils its robotic Lamprey Multi-Mission Autonomous Undersea Vehicle (MMAUV), which can hitch a ride on friendly ships or submarines by latching onto their hulls to conserve power.
—David Szondy
february 09, New Atlas, 9 Feb. 2026
Some bright minds are already latching onto this idea.
—Anthony Digiorgio, Washington Post, 6 Feb. 2026
Ana Gutierrez, Austin American Statesman, 20 Mar. 2026
The strategy is paying off, with an increasing number of listeners latching onto Toledo’s great versions of these soul/pop/R&B classics.
—Jim Harrington, Mercury News, 10 Mar. 2026
Fifth-place Monaco grabbed a second goal 10 minutes into the second half when midfielder Aleksandr Golovin, who had just come on, slid the ball into the bottom corner after latching onto a cross from the right.
—ABC News, 6 Mar. 2026
Now, some are latching onto the wave of anti-OpenAI sentiment to voice broader critiques of the company.
—Frank Landymore, Futurism, 5 Mar. 2026
As Ngumoha continued to threaten in the minutes that followed, Mac Allister would not be denied a second time, latching onto a loose ball in the box to secure victory.
—Gregg Evans, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2026
One very funny snippet has Elvis giving a sweet peck on the cheek to a little girl at the lip of the stage followed by what appears to be her big sister latching her lips onto him like a mollusk before being peeled off by her mother.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 16 Feb. 2026
Naval warfare goes a bit clingy as Lockheed Martin unveils its robotic Lamprey Multi-Mission Autonomous Undersea Vehicle (MMAUV), which can hitch a ride on friendly ships or submarines by latching onto their hulls to conserve power.
—David Szondy
february 09, New Atlas, 9 Feb. 2026
Some bright minds are already latching onto this idea.
—Anthony Digiorgio, Washington Post, 6 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for latching
Verb
-
Melvin Council stood amid a crowd of his Kansas teammates, clenching a black belt in his fist.—
Shreyas Laddha,
Kansas City Star,
25 Jan. 2026
-
Wole faced fixedly forward, both fists clenching the steering wheel.—
David Wright Faladé,
New Yorker,
28 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
That next step is hanging some more banners.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
22 Mar. 2026
-
First, there was the probe into Epstein’s death, which the medical examiner concluded was a suicide by hanging.—
Julie K. Brown,
Miami Herald,
21 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Leonard and Murphy traded baskets in the final 10 seconds before halftime, with Murphy tying it at 60 on a high, driving floater in traffic.—
Oc Register,
Oc Register,
19 Mar. 2026
-
Bruins star winger David Pastrnak extended his point streak against Montreal to 14 games, tying Bobby Orr for the longest by a Bruins player against the Canadiens.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
18 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Others showed baby Spero clasping his tiny hand around Graham's finger and slumbering with a smile on his face.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
13 Mar. 2026
-
Back at the gathering, there were Martha’s groans and Gretchen’s anger, and there was Mike, clasping his chest—a heart attack?—
Yiyun Li,
New Yorker,
1 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
That seems to be coming to fruition, both for Robertson and the Stars, with Dallas on the verge of clinching another playoff spot thanks in large part to the forward’s contributions.—
SportsDay Staff,
Dallas Morning News,
17 Mar. 2026
-
The team went 18-13 (10-5 ASUN) through the regular season, clinching its third winning season in four years.—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
15 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
At the entrance, busy setting up tables and pasting ISIS flags onto the wall, was Abdul Hadi.—
Anand Gopal,
New Yorker,
28 Feb. 2026
-
Some of these trolls are merely pasting swastikas on their nihilism, but their ideological sincerity is irrelevant.—
Tom Nichols,
The Atlantic,
23 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Wolf packs on the hunt encircled their prey—typically elk—clamping at the jugular when their target grew weary from the chase.—
Nidhi Sharma,
Popular Science,
12 Mar. 2026
-
The maximum clamping force reaches 21 kg (46 lb), which is quite a bit for a tool of this size.—
Maryna Holovnova,
New Atlas,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Since then, the hit-making producer has amassed billions of streams across streaming platforms with his genre-bending music.—
Maya Georgi,
Rolling Stone,
19 Mar. 2026
-
Earlier attempts tried bending devices or building 3D structures.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
18 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Latching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/latching. Accessed 24 Mar. 2026.
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