as in clenched
to have or keep in one's hands
he clutched the eggs carefully so he wouldn't drop them
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Recent Examples of clutched
Roach clutched a black Mini Kelly (of course Hermès gave him the best color) and his long black hair never looked a strand out of place.
—
Elise Taylor, Vanity Fair, 5 May 2026
Parents clutched their children closer.
—Amy Driscoll, Miami Herald, 3 May 2026
Flowers surrounded the baby girl's tiny casket inside the Lawrence Woodward Funeral Home in Crown Heights, as family members clutched each other and said their final goodbyes.
—Naveen Dhaliwal, CBS News, 14 Apr. 2026
Elliot Cadeau came rushing over to his mom after the game, a fistful of maize-and-blue confetti clutched tight in his hand.
—Justin Williams, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2026
One woman clutched her young, smiling child with a look of pure horror on her face.
—Megan Armstrong, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Mar. 2026
Others brought flowers, clutched to their chests.
—Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 28 Mar. 2026
Along Ferrari Ranch Road in Lincoln, Karl and Jan Hess clutched to protest signs.
—Stephen Hobbs, Sacbee.com, 28 Mar. 2026
Last year, the Checkers almost clutched the Calder Cup trophy for the second time in franchise history under the American Hockey League banner.
—Charlotte Observer, 16 Mar. 2026
Elise Taylor, Vanity Fair, 5 May 2026
Parents clutched their children closer.
—Amy Driscoll, Miami Herald, 3 May 2026
Flowers surrounded the baby girl's tiny casket inside the Lawrence Woodward Funeral Home in Crown Heights, as family members clutched each other and said their final goodbyes.
—Naveen Dhaliwal, CBS News, 14 Apr. 2026
Elliot Cadeau came rushing over to his mom after the game, a fistful of maize-and-blue confetti clutched tight in his hand.
—Justin Williams, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2026
One woman clutched her young, smiling child with a look of pure horror on her face.
—Megan Armstrong, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Mar. 2026
Others brought flowers, clutched to their chests.
—Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 28 Mar. 2026
Along Ferrari Ranch Road in Lincoln, Karl and Jan Hess clutched to protest signs.
—Stephen Hobbs, Sacbee.com, 28 Mar. 2026
Last year, the Checkers almost clutched the Calder Cup trophy for the second time in franchise history under the American Hockey League banner.
—Charlotte Observer, 16 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clutched
Verb
-
Knives are clutched, teeth are clenched, and a desperate Russian ex-pat yells loud enough for their long-dead ancestors to hear all the way back in the motherland.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
13 May 2026
-
Jordan clenched the cup so tightly her knuckles turned white.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 May 2026
Verb
-
Mali, a former French colony long gripped by insurgency, is governed by a military junta following consecutive coups in 2020 and 2021.—
Nimi Princewill,
CNN Money,
10 May 2026
-
In 2020, as the pandemic gripped the world, Cord Jefferson, Max Read, Emma Carmichael and Leah Beckmann spent their days in a Zoom writers room immersed in a project that hit close to home.—
Frank DiGiacomo,
HollywoodReporter,
8 May 2026
Verb
-
The rapper, who pleaded not guilty to all charges, has been held at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center since he was arrested in September 2024.—
Daniel S. Levine,
People.com,
6 Aug. 2025
-
That means every state budget could be held hostage until the whims of a small fraction of legislators is satisfied.—
Ross O'Keefe,
The Washington Examiner,
6 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Young grabbed onto Elijah’s hair to try to hang onto the moment.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
15 May 2026
-
Becerra blunder The first ad that grabbed my attention was a quick-turn by San José Mayor and gubernatorial candidate Matt Mahan (still stuck in single-digit polling numbers), who jumped on Xavier Becerra’s first major mess-up.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Clutched.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clutched. Accessed 16 May. 2026.
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