cinched

verb

past tense of cinch
as in ensured
to make sure, certain, or safe the team's latest victory cinches a trip to the play-offs

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of cinched The rest of Lopez’s look included a matching long-sleeve brown top and pencil skirt cinched with a belt. — Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 30 Sep. 2026 The couple wore matching suites, with Cameron’s cinched at the waist, featuring a white tie and draping cape, while David accessorized his ivory look with a silk scarf. — Janey Wetzel, PEOPLE, 24 Sep. 2026 The sleeveless dress cinched at the waist before flaring out into a petal-like, peplum skirt with an asymmetrical finish. — Chanel Vargas, InStyle, 14 Sep. 2026 For instance, a very slender friend of ours had come to get one more hole punched in her belt by Susie and was now walking around chatting with people, her belt cinched nice and tight. — Lydia Davis, New Yorker, 10 Sep. 2026 The Cubs lost 10 in a row, but their postseason slot now looks almost cinched, barring unforeseen Cubbie-like occurrences. — Jayson Stark, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026 The waist, for example, was cinched particularly tightly and emphasized in the 1940s and ’50s. — Kelly Niesen, Glamour, 24 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cinched
  1. ensured
  2. assured
  3. guaranteed
  4. secured
Verb
  • Furthermore, by holding him back in this series, the Dodgers ensured that Yamamoto would get two starts in the National League Championship Series.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2026
  • So did their strong three-person alliance, which through strategic gameplay and season-long dominance ensured at least one of them would have a real shot at winning the game.
    — McKinley Franklin, HollywoodReporter, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of ensured
Verb
  • The bar for trusted, assured security is rising, but AI-powered cryptanalysis is helping the cyber community to meet it.
    — Ali El Kaafarani, Forbes.com, 1 Oct. 2026
  • County Mayor Mark Bogen said he was assured by Sheriff Gregory Tony that a high-ranking officer and the sheriff’s chief financial officer would attend Tuesday morning’s budget workshop.
    — Rafael Olmeda, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of assured
Verb
  • Fee’s survival will depend on many things, some of which remain in question at the book’s end; nothing about his future feels guaranteed.
    — Garth Greenwell, New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Despite his success, Smerud has not publicly been guaranteed anything beyond this season; officially, the team is still searching for a new manager.
    — Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of guaranteed
Verb
  • Thiel also secured New Zealand citizenship in 2011, receiving a special exemption from the usual residency requirements.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026
  • The settlement comes less than a month after Uber and Lyft drivers in California secured collective bargaining power for the first time with the certification of the California Gig Workers Union.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of secured

Browse Nearby Words

cinch
cinched
cinches
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Cinched.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cinched. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of inscrutable

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name tags
Words Named After People Quiz Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
See All