clutching

verb

present participle of clutch
as in clenching
to have or keep in one's hands he clutched the eggs carefully so he wouldn't drop them

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of clutching Garcia lends the whole song theater-kid interpretation, essentially acting out the lyrics in pantomime, grasping out in front of her, clutching her face. — Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 25 Aug. 2026 Austin appeared to be clutching at his right knee while on the ground, clearly in a lot of pain. — Dan Duggan, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026 Instead of constantly clutching it and taking it out of your bag for photos and map directions, a strap keeps your phone hands-free, secure, and instantly accessible. — Annita Katee, Travel + Leisure, 22 Aug. 2026 Up the hillside there ever pours in reinforcements, clutching cans of beer and occasionally flags…There is something about it all of a children’s crusade, the young people look so innocent and take their pleasure so gravely. — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 21 Aug. 2026 The footage shows Williams clutching Nathaniel as heavy waves repeatedly smash into them. — ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026 Which brings us to one reason FDOT might have been bosom-clutching paperwork. — Pat Beall, Sun Sentinel, 14 Aug. 2026 After LaTanya and Zoe found Jackson one morning unconscious on their kitchen floor, still clutching cocaine, LaTanya helped get him into rehab. — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 12 Aug. 2026 The Godfather with a puppet-master’s hand clutching a control bar that looks, ominously, like a cross. — Literary Hub, 7 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clutching
  1. clenching
  2. gripping
  3. holding
  4. grabbing
Verb
  • Years ago, after Jake died, my instinct as a medical student was anger — clenching my teeth and jabbing a pen into my notepad, making a line of inky holes along the margin.
    — Caroline Cherston, STAT, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Janet held the phone away from her ear, clenching her teeth against Maggie’s booming voice.
    — Lizz Schumer, PEOPLE, 23 July 2026
Definition of clenching
Verb
  • Fundamentals like gripping the football properly to prevent fumbles, or tackling and lowering your hips to wrap up and drive a player rather than using shoulder pads or lowering the head, which put players at risk for neck and head injuries.
    — Ethan Hanson, Daily News, 21 Aug. 2026
  • The conflict is still gripping the region and no resolution is in sight.
    — Caroline Reid, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of gripping
Verb
  • Brown’s ability to hammer Husted on this issue is alarming Republican operatives, who see a Husted victory as crucial to holding a majority in the Senate.
    — Dan Kaufman, New Yorker, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The Ross Fire burning west of Fort Worth in Palo Pinto County appears to be holding steady at around 85,000 acres and 26% containment Friday, according to Texas A&M Forest Service officials.
    — Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of holding
Verb
  • Two men bought tickets to enter Vienna's Museum of Applied Arts (MAK) before smashing a display case, grabbing a 200-carat platinum and diamond necklace and walking away, police said Friday.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026
  • In the commercial, Good Good co-founder Garrett Clark rushes over to his golf bag and pushes over golfer Alexis Miestowski to keep her from grabbing the Quantum Driver.
    — Andrew Greif, NBC news, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of grabbing

Browse Nearby Words

clutches
clutching
clutter
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Clutching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clutching. Accessed 29 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of kith

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 28

Why do we say 'break a leg'?
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All