How to Use clench in a Sentence

clench

verb
  • He clenched his fists in anger.
  • She danced alone, with a rose clenched in her teeth.
  • His jaw clenched and unclenched as he listened to the speech.
  • He clenched his teeth and continued to look straight ahead.
  • He was clenching a cigarette in his teeth.
  • She was angry and spoke quietly through clenched teeth.
  • May watched, jaw clenched, arms crossed, eyes glassy.
    — Justin Williams, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2026
  • My muscles, head, neck and back were clenched.
    — William D. Brown, Outdoor Life, 13 Nov. 2025
  • Vande Kolk clenched his teeth to avoid crying.
    — Jamie Thompson, The Atlantic, 6 Nov. 2025
  • Yang Guoliang said, his hands clenched in fists.
    — Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 9 Sep. 2025
  • Squeeze your abs, clench your glutes, and keep your body in a straight line from head to heels.
    — Jenny McCoy, SELF, 2 Mar. 2018
  • Doesn’t Greer already seem lighter, freer, and less clenched?
    — Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 6 Sep. 2024
  • Her purplish hands remained clenched on her chest.
    — Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
  • Don’t leave home without a rose clenched between your teeth.
    — Georgia Nicols, Denver Post, 17 Jan. 2026
  • The two of them clench in the car, waiting to be let through the border.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 13 Apr. 2026
  • There's a reason your belly clenches at the sound of bad news.
    — Jill Provost, Woman's Day, 21 May 2012
  • Seldom without a piece of grass or straw clenched between his teeth.
    — Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2025
  • My stomach clenched with worry.
    — Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026
  • His right hand continued to clench, then unclench, on its own.
    — Mckenna Oxenden, baltimoresun.com, 2 Aug. 2020
  • The mouth clenched tight around my nipple, light sucking on and sucking out.
    — Kayleigh Roberts, Marie Claire, 6 Oct. 2018
  • Jordan clenched the cup so tightly her knuckles turned white.
    — Literary Hub, 12 May 2026
  • About 20-30 percent of kids grind their teeth or clench their jaws.
    — Mary Caldwell, ajc, 30 June 2018
  • The other two look as if their owners are in pain, with wrists bent back, fingers clenched.
    — Grace Cote, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024
  • That metallic clang, the slap of him bolting from the chair, clenched my stomach, my chest.
    — Sarah Stankorb, Longreads, 9 May 2024
  • Neely twists and writhes as Penny clenches the man’s neck and wraps his legs around his body.
    — Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 1 Nov. 2024
  • Lynn pried open Andrew's hand, which was clenched into a fist, and dropped in the pills.
    — Anna Gorman, CNN, 8 May 2017
  • Did your heart clench when the choir started to sing at Pyer Moss?
    — Emilia Petrarca, The Cut, 16 Feb. 2018
  • The 7-foot 1 freshman tipped the ball in with two hands, turned, clenched his fists and let out a yell.
    — Doug Haller, azcentral, 9 Mar. 2018
  • The cards requested us to clench our fists slowly and then unfurl them at the same pace.
    — Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2021
  • When the sky darkens, her stomach clenches.
    — Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'clench.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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