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CINCH

 - 6 dictionary results

cinch

1[sinch]
–noun
1. a strong girth used on stock saddles, having a ring at each end to which a strap running from the saddle is secured.
2. a firm hold or tight grip.
3. Informal.
a. something sure or easy: This problem is a cinch.
b. a person or thing certain to fulfill an expectation, esp. a team or contestant certain to win a sporting event: The Giants are a cinch to win Sunday's game.
–verb (used with object)
4. to gird with a cinch; gird or bind firmly.
5. Informal. to seize on or make sure of; guarantee: Ability and hard work cinched her success.

Origin:
1855–60, Americanism; < Sp cincha < L cingula girth, equiv. to cing(ere) to gird + -ula -ule

cinch

2[sinch]
–noun Cards.
a variety of the game all fours.

Origin:
1885–90; perh. < Sp cinco five, a card game

cinch belt

–noun
a wide belt of elastic, leather, or fabric with a clasp or lacing in front, worn tightly to make the waist look smaller.
Also called cinch.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To CINCH
cinch   (sĭnch)   
n.  
  1. A girth for a pack or saddle.

  2. A firm grip.

  3. Something easy to accomplish. See Synonyms at breeze1.

  4. A sure thing; a certainty.

v.   cinched, cinch·ing, cinch·es

v.   tr.
  1. To put a saddle girth on.

  2. To get a tight grip on.

  3. Informal To make certain; secure or guarantee: cinch a victory.

v.   intr.
To tighten a saddle girth. Often used with up.

[Spanish cincha, feminine of cincho, belt, from Latin cīnctus, from past participle of cingere, to gird; see kenk- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
cinch [sɪntʃ]

  1. n.
    something very easy. : No sweat! It was a cinch!
  2. tv.
    to have something settled and secured. : It only took a handshake to cinch the deal.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

cinch 
1859, Amer.Eng., "saddle-girth," from Sp. cincha "girdle," from L. cingulum "a girdle," from cingere "to surround, encircle," from PIE base *kenk- "to gird, encircle." Sense of "an easy thing" is 1898, via notion of "a sure hold" (1888). The verb is first recorded 1866.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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