clinch1 verbclinch2 noun
clinchclinch1 /klɪntʃ/ ●○○ verb 
WORD ORIGINclinch1
Origin:
1500-1600 Probably from clenchVERB TABLE
clinch
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | clinch |
| he, she, it | clinches | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | clinched |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have clinched |
| he, she, it | has clinched | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had clinched |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will clinch |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have clinched |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am clinching |
| he, she, it | is clinching | |
| you, we, they | are clinching | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was clinching |
| you, we, they | were clinching | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been clinching |
| he, she, it | has been clinching | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been clinching |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be clinching |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been clinching |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- A last-minute touchdown clinched the game for the Saints.
- Germany scored twice in the last ten minutes to clinch the championship.
- Mitchell phoned from Chicago to say that he was close to clinching the deal.
- Our company's CEO flew to Paris to clinch the deal.
- We finally clinched the contract by offering them a lower price.
- But those involved in entente floral feel at least they would have had a fighting chance of clinching the title.
- Perhaps the establishment of the Sydney Opera House clinched its victory for bragging rights.
- The signature at the bottom, clinched it: Jane Doe - which is a synonym for The-Woman-in-the-Street.
- Villeneuve came to Suzuka with a nine-point lead over Michael Schumacher in the standings and could have clinched the title.
- White clinched a quarter-final place when he potted the last red and colours to the pink in the deciding frame.
Longman Language Activatorto succeed in getting something, especially something that is difficult to get
· Getting the money for the house wasn't easy.· If I get first prize it'll be a miracle.
informal to get something that is rare or difficult to find: · Do you know where I can get hold of a German--Japanese dictionary?· These kids have very little difficulty getting hold of illegal weapons.
informal to get something that you want or need very much, or have been trying hard to get: · I bet he can't wait to lay his hands on all that money.· When Ted was a kid, he read every book about space that he could get his hands on.
: land a job/contract/interview etc to get a job etc that was difficult to get - use this especially when someone was very lucky to do this: · A French company has landed a contract to supply computers to China.land yourself something British: · He's managed to land himself an amazing job in advertising.
: win somebody's support/trust/confidence etc to get someone's support, trust etc, especially by working hard to achieve this: · It will take time to win her trust.· Gandhi won the support of many liberals in England.
: clinch a deal/contract/championship etc to finally succeed in making a deal, winning a contract etc after trying very hard: · We finally clinched the contract by offering them a lower price.· Mitchell phoned from Chicago to say that he was close to clinching the deal.· Germany scored twice in the last ten minutes to clinch the championship.
informal to get something, especially something that is difficult to get, by using clever and often slightly dishonest methods: · "They're sending me to Paris next weekend.'' "How did you manage to wangle that?''wangle it so that: · Gail has wangled it so that we can get in without tickets.
formal to succeed in getting official permission for or agreement about something, especially when this was difficult: · France was able to secure the release of two of its hostages.· Schiller secured funds for the special education project.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY
a young salesman eager to clinch the deal A last-minute touchdown clinched the game.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a young salesman eager to clinch the deal A last-minute touchdown clinched the game. (=finally agree on a deal, especially one that is good for you)· The salesman was eager to clinch the deal.
(=to win a match by scoring a goal, hitting a winning ball etc)· Ronaldo clinched the match with a brilliant goal.
(=finally win)· Adams scored a last-minute goal to clinch victory.
(=finally win after a difficult contest)· He suffered some anxious moments before clinching a 9–6 win over Dennis Taylor last night.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN· A win tonight will clinch the Pac-10 championship for Stanford, now ranked number five in the nation.· All of which means that Shorts require just three points from their final match of the season to clinch the championship.
· Women are taking command of organised crime: negotiating syndicate structures, mapping strategy, clinching deals and ordering executions.· He added, however, that he was still optimistic about clinching a deal this week.· Industry observers say this came as a disappointment to Mr Chalayan, who had hoped to clinch a deal with Gucci himself.· Are you dealing with a salesman eager to clinch a deal, or with a kitchen designer actually employed by the company?· They clinched the deal for the Norwich defender just six minutes before the deadline.· The only major obstacle remaining, mutual recognition, has clinched the deal.· But although Maxine Johnson of the Founders still had doubts, he clinched the deal with his easy and cheerful manner.· And they also need a catch-all range of facial expressions to help clinch the deal.
· With four games still to play, the side have clinched the Third Division title and promotion to Division Two.· Several years ago, a reporter friend ventured into the Astros clubhouse after the team clinched a division title.
· Davies restored Chigwellians' lead before Tapper clinched the match with the third goal.
· With enough delegates already in hand to clinch the nomination, the immediate importance of the primary has been vastly diminished.· By most calculations, Dole had clinched the nomination a week ago, when he swept four Midwest primaries.
· White clinched a quarter-final place when he potted the last red and colours to the pink in the deciding frame.· Dallas, Minnesota and New Orleans will clinch play-off places by winning this weekend.
· With four games still to play, the side have clinched the Third Division title and promotion to Division Two.· Cale Yarborough clinched the title with two races left in the season.· Components Bureau must win two of their last three matches to clinch the title.· Villeneuve came to Suzuka with a nine-point lead over Michael Schumacher in the standings and could have clinched the title.· But those involved in entente floral feel at least they would have had a fighting chance of clinching the title.· Several years ago, a reporter friend ventured into the Astros clubhouse after the team clinched a division title.· Barton had clinched the world title - his subsequent victory in the Billabong was almost a formality.· Wharton, who clinched the title by a point, now believes he is back to his best form.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY
1[transitive] to finally agree on something or get something after trying very hard: - The offer of a company car was what clinched it for me, and I accepted the job.
- Go for the key points - the points that sustain the argument and help to clinch it.
- I was pretty sure before I went up to her apartment, but that clinched it.
- It was the third day that clinched it.
- Suppose we don't clinch it?
- The signature at the bottom, clinched it: Jane Doe - which is a synonym for The-Woman-in-the-Street.
- Then Deutschlandsender made their announcement yesterday that Hess had flown the coop and I think that clinched it for them.
- This seemed to clinch it for both of them.
a young salesman eager to clinch the dealclinch a match/championship/victory etc A last-minute touchdown clinched the game.2clinch it informal if an event, situation, process etc clinches it, it makes someone finally decide to do something that they were already thinking of doing: We’d talked about moving, and the burglary clinched it for us.3[intransitive] if two people clinch, they hold each other’s arms tightly, especially when fightingclinch1 verbclinch2 noun
clinchclinch2 noun [countable] 1a situation in which two people hold each other’s arms tightly, especially when they are fighting2a situation in which two people who love each other hold each other tightly SYN embrace