clinching

clinching

English

Verb

clinching

1. present participle of clinch

Adjective

clinching (not comparable)

1. That settles something (such as an argument) definitely and conclusively
   • 1872, Thomas Hardy, Under the Greenwood Tree, Part 2, Chapter 8,

     “Yes,” said Dick, with such a clinching period at the end that it seemed he was never going to add another word.

   • 1921, Edwin Arlington Robinson, “Imogen” in Collected Poems, lines 113-119,

     There were no dreams,

     No phantoms in her future any more:

     One clinching revelation of what was

     One by-flash of irrevocable chance,

     Had acridly but honestly foretold

     The mystical fulfilment of a life

     That might have once … But that was all gone by

   • 1960, “Breaking the Fast,” Time, 22 February, 1960,

     He shocked his hearers by urging them not to fast during Ramadan, which begins Feb. 29. As a clinching argument, Bourguiba recalled that even Mohammed, when inconveniently overtaken by Ramadan on his march to Mecca, counseled his soldiers: “Break the fast, and you will be stronger to confront the enemy.”

Noun

clinching (countable and uncountable, plural clinchings)

1. A clinch; a passionate embrace.
   • 1937, Motion Picture Herald (volume 127, issues 1-6, page 42)

     Though there are no kissings and clinchings, […]

2. A making certain or finalizing.
   • 2015, George Becnel, The Southland Conference: Small College Football, Big Dreams

     Only six weeks into the season, the top-ranked Bulldogs were undefeated at 60, but more important to Louisiana Tech was one of the earliest clinchings of a conference title in the annals of college football.

3. (computing, historical) The distortion of computer tape by wrinkling.
   • 1985, Alvin C. Larson, Computer Operator (AFSC 51150) (page 87)

     This “clinching” can distort the tape by causing a series of creases or folds in the surface and may produce read errors.

   • 1987, Conservation Administration News (issues 28-35, page 29)

     Computer magnetic tape is designed primarily for its storage capacity, speed, and capacity to be repeatedly erased and written over. […] Bad binder can cause holes in the oxide, loose particles, or clinching of tape.