clincher

American  

[klin-cher] / ˈklɪn tʃər /

noun

1. a person or thing that clinches.

2. a statement, argument, fact, situation, or the like, that is decisive or conclusive.

   The heat was the clincher that made us decide to leave the city.

3. a nail, screw, etc., for clinching.

4. Automotive. a clincher tire.

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clincher British  

/ ˈklɪntʃə /

noun

1. informal something decisive, such as a fact, score, etc

2. a person or thing that clinches

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Etymology

Origin of clincher

1485–95; variant of Middle English clencher ( clench + -er ¹ )

Example Sentences

The defence flagged alarmingly late on, losing speed and structure as Argentina scored a last-minute try and came within metres of a last-play clincher.

From BBC • Nov. 23, 2025

Their tying and go-ahead runs in the Fall Classic clincher came on a pair of productive at-bats in the form of sacrifice flies.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 12, 2025

The clincher will be when they catch one of the perpetrators and get him to explain why he did it.

From BBC • Apr. 17, 2025

Then he delivers the clincher line in English while flourishing a finger-heart: “I like . . . you.”

From Salon • Jan. 5, 2025

Everyone’s excited, slapping each other's hands, and I feel it, too: a sense that this is the clincher, that we’ve done it, that my girl is saved.

From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz