verb
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to close or squeeze together (the teeth, a fist, etc) tightly
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to grasp or grip firmly
noun
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a firm grasp or grip
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a device that grasps or grips, such as a clamp
noun
Etymology
Origin of clench
1200–50; Middle English clenchen; compare Old English beclencan hold fast
Explanation
When you clench something, you grip, press, or squeeze it. You might clench your fists when you're angry or clench your teeth when you're worried, for example. People often clench parts of their own bodies, but they can also clench other things. Your grandmother might tend to clench you in her arms when you visit her, and a toddler might clench his stuffed animal to his chest when he falls asleep at night. The Old English root of clench is beclencan, which means "to hold fast or make cling," and it has the same origins as the word cling.
Vocabulary lists containing clench
"Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" by Rudyard Kipling
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Ender's Game
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Inside Out & Back Again
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I get up there, I’m like, smile, don’t look like you’re shaking inside, pop the hip, float your arm down, don’t clench your hand.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
"One of my most frequent tics is I clench my stomach and that makes me inhale air, which means that I'm constantly bloated," Smith says.
From BBC • Feb. 27, 2026
I felt my heart clench, because it’s like, “Oh, there she really is.”
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 17, 2025
Introduced to Stallone and his family, the Pope said how much he enjoyed the actor's films, prompting a smiling Stallone to clench his fists as if ready to spar, saying, "Ready, we box."
From Reuters • Sep. 8, 2023
I clench my left hand in a fist; my right grips my camera even tighter.
From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
