# clench

> English word · Verb · IPA /klɛnt͡ʃ/ · frequency rank #44,122

## Definitions
1. To grip or hold fast.
2. To close tightly.
3. Alternative form of clinch (“bend and hammer a nail”).
4. Dated form of clinch (“make certain, finalize”).

## Etymology
From 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.

## Easily confused with
- **Czech** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clench-vs-czech)
- **conch** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clench-vs-conch)
- **clutch** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clench-vs-clutch)
- **crunch** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clench-vs-crunch)
- **clinch** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clench-vs-clinch)
- **clenched** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clench-vs-clenched)
- **cinch** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cinch-vs-clench)
- **clancy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clancy-vs-clench)

## Common misspellings (10)
`cclench`, `celnch`, `clecnh`, `clencch`, `clenchh`, `clenhc`, `clennch`, `cllench`, `clnech`, `lcench`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/clench