1. (v. t.) To hold firmly; to hold fast by grasping or embracing tightly.
2. (v. t.) To set closely together; to close tightly; as, to clinch the teeth or the first.
3. (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.
4. (v. t.) To make conclusive; to confirm; to establish; as, to clinch an argument.
5. (v. i.) To hold fast; to grasp something firmly; to seize or grasp one another.
6. (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.
7. (n.) A pun.
8. (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.
