A catch held at the end, Victor dropped in match getting tense (6)
I believe the answer is:
detent
'a catch' is the definition.
(detent is a kind of catch)
I don't understand how the remainder of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for detent that I've seen before include "Catch preventing motion until released" , "This will check motion" .)