(v. t.) To hold firmly; to hold fast by grasping or embracing tightly.
(v. t.) To set closely together; to close tightly; as, to clinch the teeth or the first.
(v. t.) To bend or turn over the point of (something that has been driven through an object), so that it will hold fast; as, to clinch a nail.
(v. t.) To make conclusive; to confirm; to establish; as, to clinch an argument.
(v. i.) To hold fast; to grasp something firmly; to seize or grasp one another.
(n.) The act or process of holding fast; that which serves to hold fast; a grip; a grasp; a clamp; a holdfast; as, to get a good clinch of an antagonist, or of a weapon; to secure anything by a clinch.
(n.) A pun.
(n.) A hitch or bend by which a rope is made fast to the ring of an anchor, or the breeching of a ship's gun to the ringbolts.