Adjacent Words

Clutch definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CLUTCH, v.t.
1. To double in the fingers and pinch or compress them together; to clinch. [If n is not radical in clinch, this may be from the same root.]
2. To seize, clasp or gripe with the hand; as, to clutch a dagger; to clutch prey.
3. To seize, or grasp; as, to clutch the globe at a grasp.
CLUTCH, n. A griping or pinching with the fingers; seizure; grasp.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

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

Merriam Webster's

I. verb Etymology: Middle English clucchen, from Old English clyccan Date: before 12th century transitive verb 1. to grasp or hold with or as if with the hand or claws usually strongly, tightly, or suddenly 2. obsolete clench intransitive verb 1. to seek to grasp and hold <clutched at her hand> 2. to operate an automobile clutch Synonyms: see take II. noun Date: 13th century 1. a. the claws or a hand in the act of grasping or seizing firmly b. an often cruel or unrelenting control, power, or possession <the fell clutch of circumstance — W. E. Henley> c. the act of grasping, holding, or restraining 2. a. a coupling used to connect and disconnect a driving and a driven part (as an engine and a transmission) of a mechanism b. a lever (as a pedal) operating such a clutch 3. a tight or critical situation ; pinch <come through in the clutch> 4. clutch bag III. adjective Date: 1944 1. made or done in a crucial situation <a clutch hit> 2. successful in a crucial situation <a clutch pitcher> IV. noun Etymology: alteration of dialect English cletch hatching, brood Date: 1721 1. a nest of eggs or a brood of chicks 2. group, bunch

Britannica Concise

Device for quickly and easily connecting or disconnecting a pair of rotatable coaxial shafts. Clutches are usually placed between the driving motor and the input shaft to a machine and provide a convenient means for starting and stopping the machine and permitting the driving motor or engine to be started in an unloaded state (as in an automobile). Mechanical clutches provide either a positive (no-slip) or a friction-dependent drive; centrifugal clutches provide automatic engagement. An overrunning clutch transmits torque in one direction only and permits the driven shaft of a machine to freewheel (continue rotating after the driver stops); on bicycles, such clutches permit the rider to coast without moving the pedals.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. v. & n. --v. 1 tr. seize eagerly; grasp tightly. 2 intr. (foll. by at) snatch suddenly. --n. 1 a a tight grasp. b (foll. by at) grasping. 2 (in pl.) grasping hands, esp. as representing a cruel or relentless grasp or control. 3 a (in a motor vehicle) a device for connecting and disconnecting the engine to the transmission. b the pedal operating this. c an arrangement for connecting or disconnecting working parts of a machine. Phrases and idioms: clutch bag a slim flat handbag without handles. Etymology: ME clucche, clicche f. OE clyccan crook, clench, f. Gmc 2. n. 1 a set of eggs for hatching. 2 a brood of chickens. Etymology: 18th c.: prob. S.Engl. var. of cletch f. cleck to hatch f. ON klekja, assoc. with CLUTCH(1)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Clutch Clutch (kl[u^]ch; 224), n. [OE. cloche, cloke, claw, Scot. clook, cleuck, also OE. cleche claw, clechen, cleken, to seize; cf. AS. gel[ae]ccan (where ge- is a prefix) to seize. Cf. Latch a catch.] 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. (Zo["o]l.) The nest complement of eggs of a bird. Bayonet clutch (Mach.), a clutch in which connection is made by means of bayonets attached to arms sliding on a feathered shaft. The bayonets slide through holes in a crosshead fastened on the shaft.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Clutch Clutch, v. i. 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's 1913 Dictionary

Clutch Clutch, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Clutched; p. pr. & vb. n. Clutching.] [OE. clucchen. See Clutch, n.] 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.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(clutches, clutching, clutched) 1. If you clutch at something or clutch something, you hold it tightly, usually because you are afraid or anxious. I staggered and had to clutch at a chair for support... She was clutching a photograph. = grasp, grip VERB: V at n, V n 2. If someone is in another person's clutches, that person has captured them or has power over them. Stojanovic escaped their clutches by jumping from a moving vehicle. = grasp N-PLURAL: usu with poss 3. In a vehicle, the clutch is the pedal that you press before you change gear. Laura let out the clutch and pulled slowly away down the drive. N-COUNT 4. to clutch at straws: see straw

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. Grasp, gripe, grip, grapple, clasp, clench, seize, catch, snatch, lay hold of, fasten upon. II. n. Grasp, gripe, grip, clasp, clench, seizure.

Moby Thesaurus

abduct, adhere to, amount, array, batch, bear hug, bind, bite, body, brood, budget, bunch, bundle, carry off, catch, cherish, chunk, clamp, clasp, cleave to, clench, climacteric, clinch, cling, clinging, clip, clump, cluster, clutches, complication, cone clutch, control, convergence of events, count, crisis, critical juncture, critical point, crossroads, crucial period, crunch, deal, death grip, disk clutch, dominance, domination, dose, embarrassing position, embarrassment, embrace, emergency, exigency, extremity, farrow, fine how-do-you-do, firm hold, foothold, footing, freeze to, friction clutch, fry, get, gob, grab, grapple, grasp, grip, gripe, group, hang on, hang on to, harbor, hatch, heap, hell to pay, high pressure, hinge, hobble, hold, hold fast, hold on, hold on to, hold tight, hot water, how-do-you-do, hug, hunk, imbroglio, imperativeness, influence, iron grip, jam, keep, keep hold of, kidnap, large amount, lay hold of, litter, lot, measure, mess, mix, morass, multiple-disk clutch, nab, nail, nest, never let go, nip, number, pack, parcel, parlous straits, part, pass, pickle, pinch, plate clutch, plight, portion, possession, power, predicament, press, pressure, pretty pass, pretty pickle, pretty predicament, purchase, push, quagmire, quantity, quicksand, ration, rim clutch, rub, scrape, seize, seizure, set, shanghai, slip friction clutch, slough, small amount, snag, snatch, spat, spawn, spot, squeeze, stew, stick to, sticky wicket, strait, straits, stress, sum, swamp, take, take hold of, tension, tenure, throttle, tight grip, tight spot, tight squeeze, tightrope, toehold, tricky spot, turn, turning point, unholy mess, urgency, young