clincher
Americannoun
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a person or thing that clinches.
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a statement, argument, fact, situation, or the like, that is decisive or conclusive.
The heat was the clincher that made us decide to leave the city.
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a nail, screw, etc., for clinching.
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Automotive. a clincher tire.
noun
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informal something decisive, such as a fact, score, etc
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a person or thing that clinches
Etymology
Origin of clincher
1485–95; variant of Middle English clencher ( clench + -er 1 )
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.
The defence flagged alarmingly late on, losing speed and structure as Argentina scored a last-minute try and came within metres of a last-play clincher.
From BBC • Nov. 23, 2025
Then again, Walker Buehler wasn’t part of the Dodgers’ plans for their World Series clincher last year.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 1, 2025
Their tying and go-ahead runs in the Fall Classic clincher came on a pair of productive at-bats in the form of sacrifice flies.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 12, 2025
The clincher for Emery appears to have been the promise of playing Asensio in the number 10 position.
From BBC • Feb. 28, 2025
Everyone’s excited, slapping each other's hands, and I feel it, too: a sense that this is the clincher, that we’ve done it, that my girl is saved.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
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.
