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 AI race could well be the clincher.
From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026
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 will be when they catch one of the perpetrators and get him to explain why he did it.
From BBC • Apr. 17, 2025
Then he delivers the clincher line in English while flourishing a finger-heart: “I like . . . you.”
From Salon • Jan. 5, 2025
“Your clincher clue was waddle? That seems to work,” Wilder responded.
From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
