clutch Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the act of grasping
    grip; clutches; clench; grasp; hold; clasp.
    • he released his clasp on my arm
    • he has a strong grip for an old man
    • she kept a firm hold on the railing
  2. noun a tense critical situation
    • he is a good man in the clutch
  3. noun a number of birds hatched at the same time
  4. noun a collection of things or persons to be handled together
    batch.
  5. noun a woman's strapless purse that is carried in the hand
    clutch bag.
  6. noun a pedal or lever that engages or disengages a rotating shaft and a driving mechanism
    clutch pedal.
    • he smoothely released the clutch with one foot and stepped on the gas with the other
  7. noun a coupling that connects or disconnects driving and driven parts of a driving mechanism
    • this year's model has an improved clutch
  8. verb take hold of; grab
    prehend; seize.
    • The sales clerk quickly seized the money on the counter
    • She clutched her purse
    • The mother seized her child by the arm
    • Birds of prey often seize small mammals
  9. verb hold firmly, usually with one's hands
    hold tight; hold close; cling to.
    • She clutched my arm when she got scared
  10. verb affect
    get hold of; seize.
    • Fear seized the prisoners
    • The patient was seized with unbearable pains
    • He was seized with a dreadful disease

WordNet

Clutch noun
Etymology
OE. cloche, cloke, claw, Scot. clook, cleuck, also OE. cleche claw, clechen, cleken, to seize; cf. AS. gelæccan (where ge- is a prefix) to seize. Cf. Latch a catch.
Definitions
  1. A gripe or clinching with, or as with, the fingers or claws; seizure; grasp. "The clutch of poverty." Cowper.
    An expiring clutch at popularity. Carlyle.
    But Age, with his stealing steps, Hath clawed me in his clutch. Shak.
  2. pl. The hands, claws, or talons, in the act of grasping firmly; -- often figuratively, for power, rapacity, or cruelty; as, to fall into the clutches of an adversary.
    I must have . . . little care of myself, if I ever more come near the clutches of such a giant. Bp. Stillingfleet.
  3. (Mach.) A device which is used for coupling shafting, etc., so as to transmit motion, and which may be disengaged at pleasure.
  4. Any device for gripping an object, as at the end of a chain or tackle.
  5. (Zoöl.) The nest complement of eggs of a bird.
Clutch transitive verb
Etymology
OE. clucchen. See Clutch, n.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Clutched ; present participle & verbal noun Clutching
Definitions
  1. To seize, clasp, or gripe with the hand, hands, or claws; -- often figuratively; as, to clutch power.
    A man may set the poles together in his head, and clutch the whole globe at one intellectual grasp. Collier.
    Is this a dagger which I see before me . . . ? Come, let me clutch thee. Shak.
  2. To close tightly; to clinch.
    Not that I have the power to clutch my hand. Shak.
Clutch intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To reach (at something) as if to grasp; to catch or snatch; -- often followed by at.
    Clutching at the phantoms of the stock market. Bankroft.

Webster 1913