Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - clinch

~1 v 1 to succeed in getting or winning something after trying very hard  (clinch the deal/contract)  (It was the BM 40's superior design that clinched the deal. | clinch the contest/championship/title etc)  (Germany scored twice in the last ten minutes to clinch the championship.) 2 clinch it informal if an event, situation, process etc clinches it, it makes someone finally decide to do something that they were already thinking of doing  (The offer of a company car clinched it and I accepted the job.) 3 if two people clinch, they hold each other's arms tightly, especially when they are fighting 4 to fix a nail firmly by bending the point over ~2 n 1 a situation in which two people hold each other's arms tightly, especially when they are fighting 2 a situation in which two people who love each other hold each other tightly; embrace2