clench
To grip or hold fastTo grip or hold fast.
Recorded UK: Speaker: Vealhurl Recorder: Vealhurl, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
» Tom clenched his fist.
Tom ballte die Faust. — Dani6187
Том сжал кулак. — marafon
Том стиснув кулак. — deniko
CM · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
2 senses(ambitransitive)To grip or hold fast.
I clenched the rope in my teeth.
hold in a tight grasp
(ambitransitive)To close tightly.
He clenched his fist in anger.
squeeze together tightly
Examples
43 sentencesTom clenched his fist.
Том стиснув кулак. — deniko
ruТом сжал кулак. — marafon
deTom ballte die Faust. — Dani6187
A clenched fist may indicate stress.
Tom's hands were tightly clenched into fists.
deToms Hände waren fest zu Fäusten geballt. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
Tom clenched the shovel.
Tom clenched the wheel.
Translations
4 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
From Middle English clenchen, from Old English clenċan (“to clinch; hold fast”), a variantFrom Middle English clenchen, from Old English clenċan (“to clinch; hold fast”), a variant of Old English clenġan (“to adhere; remain”), from Proto-Germanic *klangijaną, causative of *klinganą (“to stick; adhere”). Related to cling.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
clenches, clenching, clenched, clenchedSynonyms
4 synonymsAntonyms
1 antonymsWord family
6 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.