clutch

¹clutch

verb \ˈkləch\

Definition of CLUTCH

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

Examples of CLUTCH

1. I had to clutch the counter to keep from falling.
2. The child clutched her mother's hand firmly.
3. He had a book clutched in his hand.

Origin of CLUTCH

Middle English clucchen, from Old English clyccan

First Known Use: before 12th century

Related to CLUTCH

Synonyms

clench, cling (to), hold, grip

Related Words

bear, carry; bag, capture, catch, collar, corral, grab, grapple, hook, land, latch (on or onto), nab, nail, seize, snap (up), snare, snatch, take, trap; feel, finger, handle, paw; clasp, embrace, grasp, hug; cradle

Near Antonyms

drop, give, hand, unclasp, unhand; cede, deliver, give up, hand out, hand over, release, relinquish, render, turn over, yield

See Synonym Discussion at take

Rhymes with CLUTCH

crutch, cutch, dutch, Dutch, grutch, hutch, much, scutch, smutch, such, touch

²clutch

noun

Definition of CLUTCH

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

First Known Use of CLUTCH

13th century

Other Automotive Terms

articulated, block, choke, diesel, neutral, transmission

³clutch

adjective

Definition of CLUTCH

1

: made or done in a crucial situation <a clutch hit>

2

: successful in a crucial situation <a clutch pitcher>

Examples of CLUTCH

1. She scored a clutch basket.

First Known Use of CLUTCH

1929

⁴clutch

noun

Definition of CLUTCH

1

: a nest of eggs or a brood of chicks

2

: group, bunch

Origin of CLUTCH

alteration of dialect English cletch hatching, brood

First Known Use: 1721

Other Birds Terms

aerie, bunting, covey, hackle, ratite, rictus, ruff, skein, zygodactyl

clutch

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

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.