Link Centre Dictionary

clutch

UK/ˈklʌt͡ʃ/ US/ˈkʰl̥ʌt͡ʃ/ fairly common us
verb (3) noun (6)

verb

1.

take hold of; grab

  • “The salesclerk 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”
Synonyms
2.

hold firmly, usually with one''s hands

  • “She clutched my arm when she got scared”
Synonyms
3.

affect

  • “Fear seized the prisoners”
  • “The patient was seized with unbearable pains”
  • “He was seized with a dreadful disease”
Synonyms

noun

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”
Synonyms
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

Synonyms
5.

a pedal that operates a clutch

Synonyms
6.

a coupling that connects or disconnects driving and driven parts of a driving mechanism

  • “this year”

Origin

From Middle English clucchen, clicchen, cluchen, clechen, cleken, from Old English clyċċan (“to clutch, clench”), from Proto-West Germanic *klukkjan, from Proto-Germanic *klukjaną, from Proto-Germanic *klu- (“to ball up, conglomerate, amass”), from Proto-Indo-European *glew- (“to ball up; lump, mass”). Cognate with Swedish klyka (“clamp, fork, branch”). The noun is from Middle English cleche, cloche, cloke ("claw, talon, hand"; compare Scots cleuk, cluke, cluik (“claw, talon”)), of uncertain origin, with the form probably assimilated to the verb. Alternative etymology derives Old English clyċċan from Proto-Germanic *klēk- (“claw, hand”), from Proto-Indo-European *glēk-, *ǵlēḱ- (“claw, hand; to clutch, snatch”). If so, then cognate with Irish glac (“hand”).

Phrases

  • a drowning man will clutch at a straw
  • camel clutch
  • clutch artist
  • clutch at a straw
  • clutch at straws
  • clutch bag
  • clutch disc
  • clutch initiation
  • clutch one's pearls
  • clutch pedal
  • clutch pencil
  • clutch plate

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Parts

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.