clench vs lock

clench

verb
  • To grip or hold fast. 

  • To close tightly. 

noun
  • A tight grip. 

  • A local chapter of the Church of the SubGenius parody religion. 

  • A seal that is applied to formed thin-wall bushings. 

lock

verb
  • To become fastened in place. 

  • To raise or lower (a boat) in a lock. 

  • To modify (a thread) so that users cannot make new posts in it. 

  • To freeze one's body or a part thereof in place. 

  • To fasten with a lock. 

  • To be capable of becoming fastened in place. 

  • To seize (e.g. the sword arm of an antagonist) by turning one's left arm around it, to disarm them. 

  • To play in the position of lock. 

  • To intertwine or dovetail. 

  • To prevent a page from being edited by other users. 

  • To furnish (a canal) with locks. 

noun
  • A device for keeping a wheel from turning. 

  • A segment of a canal or other waterway enclosed by gates, used for raising and lowering boats between levels. 

  • Complete control over a situation. 

  • The firing mechanism. 

  • Something sure to be a success. 

  • A fastening together or interlacing; a closing of one thing upon another; a state of being fixed or immovable. 

  • A place impossible to get out of, as by a lock. 

  • A grapple in wrestling. 

  • A tuft or length of hair, wool, etc. 

  • A small quantity of straw etc. 

  • A quantity of meal, the perquisite of a mill-servant. 

  • A player in the scrum behind the front row, usually the tallest members of the team. 

  • A mutex or other token restricting access to a resource. 

  • Something used for fastening, which can only be opened with a key or combination. 

How often have the words clench and lock occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )