cinch1
[sinch]
- a strong girth used on stock saddles, having a ring at each end to which a strap running from the saddle is secured.
- a firm hold or tight grip.
- Informal.
- something sure or easy: This problem is a cinch.
- a person or thing certain to fulfill an expectation, especially a team or contestant certain to win a sporting event: The Giants are a cinch to win Sunday's game.
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- to gird with a cinch; gird or bind firmly.
- Informal. to seize on or make sure of; guarantee: Ability and hard work cinched her success.
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Origin of cinch1
1855–60, Americanism; < Spanish cincha < Latin cingula girth, equivalent to cing(ere) to gird + -ula -ule
cinch2
[sinch]
- a variety of the game all fours.
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Origin of cinch2
1885–90; perhaps < Spanish cinco five, a card game
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for cinch
Contemporary Examples
And, thanks to a transparent hull, exploring the deep and spotting rare marine life is practically a cinch.
Cinch an Inch…Or Seven But are waist cinchers the secret to a smaller waist?
Cinch the waist, tighten the tummy, raise the rear, there is a shape shifter designed for every job.
The historical record suggests it should cinch the contest for the Democrats.
Historical Examples
"It's a cinch he don't know about that pill-thrower back in Ohio," added Cal.
Chip, of the Flying UB. M. Bower
"It's a cinch you'll take the front seat," he remarked, laconically.
Chip, of the Flying UB. M. Bower
Old Blake would give him work on his ranch over there, that was a cinch.
Chip, of the Flying UB. M. Bower
If you really want her and will follow the rules I give you, it's a cinch.
The Fortune HunterLouis Joseph Vance
Gilbert killed there, the room found bolted, was a cinch for suicide.
The Million-Dollar SuitcaseAlice MacGowan
cinch1
- slang an easy task
- slang a certainty
- US and Canadian a band around a horse's belly to keep the saddle in positionAlso called (in Britain and certain other countries): girth
- informal a firm grip
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- (often foll by up) US and Canadian to fasten a girth around (a horse)
- (tr) informal to make sure of
- (tr) informal to get a firm grip on
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Word Origin
C19: from Spanish cincha saddle girth, from Latin cingula girdle, from cingere to encircle
cinch2
- a card game in which the five of trumps ranks highest
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Word Origin
C19: probably from cinch 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for cinch
n.
1859, American English, "saddle-girth," from Spanish cincha "girdle," from Latin cingulum "a girdle, a swordbelt," from cingere "to surround, encircle," from PIE root *kenk- (1) "to gird, encircle" (cf. Sanskrit kankate "binds," kanci "girdle;" Lithuanian kinkau "to harness horses"). Replaced earlier surcingle. Sense of "an easy thing" is 1898, via notion of "a sure hold" (1888).
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v.
1866, "to pull in," from cinch (n.). Figurative meaning "make certain" is from 1891, American English slang. Related: Cinched; cinching.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper