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
Here against Casa Pia, for example, Suarez sets off at speed as soon as the ball breaks loose, latching onto an outside-of-the-boot pass with a run into the channels that is reminiscent of Gyokeres at Sporting last season.
—
Thom Harris, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2026
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
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
Thom Harris, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2026
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
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
-
Protect against teeth grinding, clenching and enamel damage with custom dental solutions from ClearClub.—
Tory Johnson,
ABC News,
26 Mar. 2026
-
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
Verb
-
Earth was just this lifeboat hanging undisturbingly in the universe.—
William Harwood,
CBS News,
12 Apr. 2026
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Instead of using an oversized crock or cramming utensils into drawers and making a mess, try hanging them on the wall.—
Mary Cornetta,
Better Homes & Gardens,
12 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The Athletics got to Yankees closer David Bednar in the ninth inning Wednesday night, paving the way for a 3-2, series-tying victory for the nomadic visitors at Yankee Stadium.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
9 Apr. 2026
-
The Sox brought the tying run to the plate in both the eighth and ninth innings, but came up short to drop their second straight in the series.—
LaMond Pope,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The june bug falls to the bottom of the bag but manages to recover from a new round of kicking by clasping to a leaf.—
María Ospina,
The Dial,
31 Mar. 2026
-
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
Verb
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Minnesota is on the cusp of clinching a top six seed and avoiding the Western Conference's play-in tournament.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
8 Apr. 2026
-
The Sabres never trailed and were greeted by a standing ovation upon returning home since clinching their first playoff berth in 15 seasons on Saturday.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
6 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
For many adults, the beauty book triggered memories of a pre-social-media childhood spent cutting pictures out of magazines and pasting them into notebooks.—
Hanna Wickes,
Miami Herald,
26 Mar. 2026
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All medical specialties have rules for filling out their notes, and ABA providers shouldn’t need the state to tell them that copying and pasting the same summary for each session, as the inspectors found in some cases, wasn’t good enough, Bimestefer said.—
Meg Wingerter,
Denver Post,
22 Mar. 2026
Verb
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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
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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
-
Wonderlab’s focus will be creating wildly fun, commercial, character-driven, genre-bending films.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
9 Apr. 2026
-
The focus is creating wildly fun, commercial, character-driven, genre-bending films.—
Borys Kit,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Latching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/latching. Accessed 14 Apr. 2026.
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