cinch

/sɪntʃ/

/sɪntʃ/

Other forms: cinched; cinches; cinching

Something that's a cinch is incredibly easy. It's a cinch to eat a meticulously decorated cake — it's much more complicated to bake and frost one.

Cinch is one of those words with many meanings that seem unrelated at first glance. The original 19th-century North American definition, which is still used today, is "saddle girth," the straps that keep a horse's saddle in place. As a verb, cinch means "to pull tight," the way you'd cinch a belt. Informally, to cinch is to make absolutely certain: "It'll cinch her college decision if that school offers a scholarship."

Definitions of cinch

1. noun

   stable gear consisting of a band around a horse's belly that holds the saddle in place
   synonyms: girth

   type of:

   saddlery, stable gear, tack

   gear for a horse
2. verb

   tie a cinch around
   “cinch horses”

   synonyms: girth

   type of:

   fasten, fix, secure

   cause to be firmly attached
3. verb

   get a grip on; get mastery of
   type of:

   control, master

   have a firm understanding or knowledge of; be on top of
4. verb

   make sure of
   type of:

   ascertain, assure, check, control, ensure, insure, see, see to it

   be careful or certain to do something; make certain of something
5. noun

   any undertaking that is easy to do
   synonyms: breeze, child's play, duck soup, picnic, piece of cake, pushover, snap, walkover

   types:

   doddle

   an easy task

   type of:

   labor, project, task, undertaking

   any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted
6. noun

   a form of all fours in which the players bid for the privilege of naming trumps
   type of:

   all fours, high-low-jack

   card games in which points are won for taking the high or low or jack or game