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# clench

«clench» in Mova's school dictionary: **to press them tightly together** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb (clench, clenches, clenched, clenching)

### meaning for a pupil

1) To clench your fists or teeth means to press them tightly together. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clench/#m1)

2) To clench something means to hold it very tightly. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clench/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In stories clenched fists or a clenched jaw show that a character is angry, scared, in pain or trying hard not to cry. In everyday life people clench their teeth when they are tense; at the dentist you may be told to unclench. In PE you might clench your muscles to hold a position. Phrases: «clench your fists», «clench your teeth», «through clenched teeth».

### examples

- He clenched his fists in anger. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clench/#x1)
- She clenched her teeth and kept going. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clench/#x2)
- «I am fine,» he said through clenched teeth. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clench/#x3)
- Try not to clench your jaw when you are worried. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clench/#x4)
- The baby clenched my finger in her tiny hand. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clench/#x5)
- Unclench your hands and take a deep breath. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clench/#x6)
- Tom clenched the rope as he climbed. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clench/#x7)
- My stomach clenched with fear. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clench/#x8)
- Ugly monkeys sat high in the branches and clenched their teeth. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clench/#x9)

### note

Regular verb: clenched, clenching. «Clench» is usually for fists, teeth, jaw; «clutch» or «grip» is for holding objects. Clenching your teeth a lot, even in sleep, can hurt your jaw — tell an adult if your jaw aches.

### In the corpora

- [A red face, clenched fists or a tight jaw and a loud voice are signs of anger.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/14-faces-and-voices/9/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «clench» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clench/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.