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Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
clench
verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
clenched...fist (=held his fist very tightly closed)
▪ Malcolm clenched his fist angrily.
grit/clench your teeth (=put them firmly together)
▪ He was gritting his teeth against the pain.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
tightly
▪ This proved impossible: the fist was too tightly clenched in its terminal seizure.
▪ He sat up on the edge of his bed, tightly clenched together his hands, and began repeating his own name.
▪ His jaw was clenched tightly, his eyes narrowed.
■ NOUN
fist
▪ This proved impossible: the fist was too tightly clenched in its terminal seizure.
▪ She is in a rage, her face white, fists clenched.
▪ But the rent strikes brought her out to the world with her small fists clenched in a white-knuckle fury.
▪ Howard paused, fists clenched, mouth trembling.
▪ His fists were clenched at his side, his eyes shut tight.
▪ Jody is pacing the sidelines, her fists clenched.
▪ The Kelda waddled into the shadows and returned with her pudgy fists clenched.
▪ But instead he sat motionless, fists still clenched, still staring.
hand
▪ The shock was terrific, he gasped into his oxygen mask, his hands clenching involuntarily.
▪ He proceeded slowly, hands clenched in his pockets, eyes scanning labels on the stacked boxes.
▪ Frankie felt his face redden and his hands clench themselves into fists.
▪ His hands were clenched into fists.
▪ The main picture shows them sitting bolt upright with their hands clenched together in their laps.
▪ At this moment they were directed straight into her lap, where her tiny hands were clenched in anguish.
▪ She'd suddenly found herself staring at his hands, which were clenched together behind his back.
▪ Even so, my right hand is clenched into a fist, the only outward sign that I am afraid.
jaw
▪ His jaw was clenched tightly, his eyes narrowed.
▪ Mitchell looked up and saw Isaac with his jaw clenched.
▪ Gosse had been watching all in silence, his jaw clenched, his neck muscles taut.
▪ Her jaw clenches as if she has to force it open and closed to get out each word.
tooth
▪ Meryl stared unseeingly ahead, teeth clenched, rigid with an icy rage.
▪ Pointing, she came toward Norm, teeth clenched.
▪ Her breath was hissing in and out audibly as if her teeth were clenched.
▪ My apron flapped, my teeth were clenched.
▪ His teeth were clenched against the cold, and his sleeves were pulled down over his knuckles.
▪ His teeth clenched, Eddic Peace struck Hicks in the stomach with the points of his fingers.
▪ See if your teeth are clenched or if your spine is rigid.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ He succeeded in pulling apart my clenched arms and started on my legs.
▪ Her muscles involuntarily clenched, then went limp.
▪ His buttocks were clenched as he moved towards her.
▪ I clenched out the light and stuck my fingers in my ears.
▪ My apron flapped, my teeth were clenched.
▪ She clenched her fists, on the verge of tears.
▪ The shock was terrific, he gasped into his oxygen mask, his hands clenching involuntarily.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Clench

Clench \Clench\, n. & v. t. See Clinch.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
clench

Old English (be)clencan "to hold fast, make cling," causative of clingan (see cling); compare stench/stink. Related: Clenched; clenching.

clench

"part of a nail that clinchers," 1590s, from clench (v.). Meaning "a grasp, grip" is from 1779.

Wiktionary
clench

n. 1 tight grip. 2 (context engineering English) A seal that is applied to formed thin-wall bushings. 3 A local chapter of the (w: Church of the SubGenius) parody religion. vb. 1 To squeeze; to grip or hold tightly. 2 To move two parts of something against each other

WordNet
clench
  1. n. a small slip noose made with seizing [syn: clinch]

  2. the act of grasping; "he released his clasp on my arm"; "he has a strong grip for an old man"; "she kept a firm hold on the railing" [syn: clasp, clutch, clutches, grasp, grip, hold]

  3. v. hold in a tight grasp; "clench a steering wheel" [syn: clinch]

  4. squeeze together tightly; "clench one's jaw"

Wikipedia
Clench

'''Clench ''' may refer to:

Clench (surname)

Clench is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

  • Andrew Clench (died 1692), English physician
  • Jim Clench (1949-2010), former member of the bands April Wine and Bachman–Turner Overdrive
  • John Clench (died 1607), English judge
  • Nora Clench (1867–1938), Canadian violinist
  • Ralfe Clench (c. 1762-1828), farmer, judge and political figure in Upper Canada
  • William J. Clench (1897-1984), American malacologist

Usage examples of "clench".

His hands cupped it, clenching on the rounded curves as an animalistic growl rumbled in his chest.

Marsali sat down, reached under her arisaid to unfasten her bodice, and set the baby to her breast, her lip clenched between her teeth with trepidation.

Sabin clenched his fists but he succeeded in keeping his head down until the Atabeg had passed.

His hands shook as he punched in an autodial number on his cell phone, and it was only by clenching his teeth together that he kept them from chattering.

McGruder, standing protectively close to his leader as usual, beckoned the Blackshirt forward and I saw whose arm he clenched.

He bounded off the end, snatched a bicycle away from the wall, and pedalled quickly out of sight while he bleated shrill blasts on a police whistle clenched between his teeth.

No longer passive, the naked brownette clenched her arms and thighs round her virile mature lover-master, and held to him for dear life as he foraged lingeringly in her love-citadel till once more her amorous tides were shatteringly swept up on the beach of bliss.

He looked unconcerned, almost amused, with Carnie leaning limply against him, but his left hand was clenched, the thumb moving up and down as if he were clicking the sparker.

Then he lifted his right arm in what was at first a clenched fist of victory, and then developed into a Churchillian V for victory salute all the while looking directly at Karen.

The teeth of the cowpuncher clenched tightly till the muscles of the jaw stood out like ropes.

To which Lord Diegan could do nothing but clench his jaw, wheel his courser out of line, and pound off at a canter to review the order of his troops.

A visceral clenching reaction created a blissful disconnectedness from her circumstances and surroundings.

Now, dropped to one knee on the dance floor, bills clenched in his fist, he was every bit the boy she had known since junior high and loved since high school.

His fists were clenched so tight he could feel the nails driving into his palms, but he made himself smile frostily at the two newsmen.

He wrenched on the reins, the Palomino responding magnificently, the horse slewing to an abrupt stop, even as Geronimo rose to his full height, the lance clenched in his right fist.