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
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for cinched
Contemporary Examples
For example, some Kaftan-inspired dresses with flowing silhouettes were paired with belts which cinched the waistline.
A standout was a seductive black trench with a cinched waist.
After all, the Vatican experts had predicted that a short conclave meant that one of the two frontrunners had cinched the deal.
They had measurements of what her waist size was when she was cinched in and corseted.
I got him down to the ground, took off his belt, and cinched it tightly around his biceps to stop the bleeding.
Historical Examples
The old man was cinched at last; Mackenzie was glad that it was so.
The Flockmaster of Poison CreekGeorge W. Ogden
But he climbed into the saddle which Jack had cinched for him.
Brand BlottersWilliam MacLeod Raine
Laying the saddle on swiftly, but gently, he cinched it strongly.
The Eagle's HeartHamlin Garland
He dismounted and cinched up his saddle and inspected his revolver.
With Hoops of SteelFlorence Finch Kelly
Sawtell seemed inclined to talk while he cinched up Las Vegas.
The Lone Ranger RidesFran Striker
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 cinched
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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cinch
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