clench
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A clenched fist.
English
Etymology
From Middle English clenchen, from Old English clenċan (“to clinch; hold fast”), a variant of Old English clenġan (“to adhere; remain”), from Proto-Germanic *klangijaną, causative of *klinganą (“to stick; adhere”). Related to cling.
Pronunciation
Verb
clench (third-person singular simple present clenches, present participle clenching, simple past and past participle clenched) (transitive, intransitive)
- To grip or hold fast.
- 1697, Virgil, “(please specify the book number)”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. , London: Jacob Tonson, , →OCLC:
- Clinch the pointed spear.
- To close tightly.
- He clenched his fist in anger.
- 1859, Alfred Tennyson, “Elaine”, in Idylls of the King, London: Edward Moxon & Co., , →OCLC, page 179:
- [She] flung herself / Down on the great King's couch, and writhed upon it, / And clench'd her fingers till they bit the palm, / And shriek'd out 'traitor' to the unhearing wall, […]
Usage notes
- In the vast majority of instances, this verb describes the action of a human or animal body part, usually the hand, fingers, fist, claws, jaw, teeth, buttocks, or anus. While such body parts may be said to clench another object, such as a knife clenched in the teeth, it is rare to suggest that an inanimate object such as a vise is itself engaged in clenching. In these cases, a synonym such as clamp, clasp, squeeze, or constrict would be more idiomatic.
Synonyms
- (grip or hold tightly): clasp, clutch, grip; See also Thesaurus:grasp
Antonyms
Derived terms
Translations
to squeeze
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Noun
clench (plural clenches)
- A tight grip.
- (engineering) A seal that is applied to formed thin-wall bushings.
- A local chapter of the Church of the SubGenius parody religion.
- 1989, Ted Schultz, The Fringes of Reason, page 210:
- And perhaps most innovative of all, Drummond and Stang pushed for a policy of clench autonomy […]
- 2003, Peter Knight, Conspiracy Theories in American History: An Encyclopedia, page 170:
- Every SubGenius clench is required to have a member who does not believe […]
- 2012, George D. Chryssides, Historical Dictionary of New Religious Movements, page 95:
- Originality is encouraged, and some clenches have devised their own distinctive organizational names […]
- (archaic) A pun
- 1728, [Alexander Pope], “Book the First”, in The Dunciad. An Heroic Poem. , Dublin, London: A. Dodd, →OCLC, page 1:
- Here one poor word an hundred clenches makes
Translations
tight grip
References
- “clench”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
- “clench”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.