clutch
Use Clutch in a sentence
verb (used with object)
1.
to seize with or as with the hands or claws; snatch: The bird swooped down and clutched its prey with its claws.
2.
to grip or hold tightly or firmly: She clutched the child's hand as they crossed the street.
3.
Slang. to spellbind; grip a person's emotions, attention, or interest: Garbo movies really clutch me.
verb (used without object)
4.
to try to seize or grasp (usually followed by at ): He clutched at the fleeing child. She clutched at the opportunity.
5.
Slang. to become tense with fright; panic (sometimes followed by up ): I clutched up on the math exam.
6.
to operate the clutch in a vehicle.
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Clutch
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is yaff. Does it mean:
| to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax. |
| to bark; yelp. |
noun
7.
the hand, claw, etc., when grasping.
8.
9.
the act of clutching; a snatch or grasp.
10.
a tight grip or hold.
11.
a device for gripping something.
12.
Automotive, Machinery.
a.
a mechanism for readily engaging or disengaging a shaft with or from another shaft or rotating part. Compare coupling ( def 2a ).
b.
a control, as a pedal, for operating this mechanism.
13.
Sports. an extremely important or crucial moment of a game: He was famous for his coolness in pitching in the clutch.
14.
any critical position or situation; emergency: She kept complete control in the clutch.
15.
Also called clutch bag, clutch purse. a woman's small purse that can be carried in the hand and usually has no handle or strap.
adjective
16.
done or accomplished in a critical situation: a clutch shot that won the basketball game.
17.
dependable in crucial situations: a clutch player.
18.
(of a coat) without fasteners; held closed in front by one's hand or arm.
Origin:
1175–1225; Middle English clucchen, variant of clicchen, Old English clyccan to clench
1175–1225; Middle English clucchen, variant of clicchen, Old English clyccan to clench
Related forms
clutch·ing·ly, adverb
clutch·y, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
noun
1.
a hatch of eggs; the number of eggs produced or incubated at one time.
2.
a brood of chickens.
3.
a number of similar individuals: a clutch of books; a whole clutch of dancers.
verb (used with object)
4.
to hatch (chickens).
Origin:
1715–25; variant of cletch (now dial.); akin to Scots cleck to hatch < Old Norse klekja to hatch
1715–25; variant of cletch (now dial.); akin to Scots cleck to hatch < Old Norse klekja to hatch
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To clutch
Collins
World English Dictionary
clutch1 (klʌtʃ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb (usually foll by at) | |
| 1. | (tr) to seize with or as if with hands or claws |
| 2. | (tr) to grasp or hold firmly |
| 3. | to attempt to get hold or possession (of) |
| —n | |
| 4. | a device that enables two revolving shafts to be joined or disconnected as required, esp one that transmits the drive from the engine to the gearbox in a vehicle |
| 5. | a device for holding fast |
| 6. | a firm grasp |
| 7. | a hand, claw, or talon in the act of clutching: in the clutches of a bear |
| 8. | (often plural) power or control: in the clutches of the Mafia |
| 9. | Also called: clutch bag a handbag without handles |
| [Old English clyccan; related to Old Frisian kletsie spear, Swedish klyka clasp, fork] | |
| clutch2 (klʌtʃ) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a hatch of eggs laid by a particular bird or laid in a single nest |
| 2. | a brood of chickens |
| 3. | informal a group, bunch, or cluster |
| —vb | |
| 4. | (tr) to hatch (chickens) |
| [C17 (Northern English dialect) cletch, from Old Norse klekja to hatch] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
clutch
O.E. clyccan "bring together, bend (the fingers), clench," infl. in meaning by M.E. cloke "a claw." Automotive engine part (n.) is 1814, with the "seizing" sense extended to "coupling for bringing working parts together." Originally of mill-works, first used of motor vehicles 1899.
clutch
of chickens, eggs, 1721, from clekken "to hatch," probably from a Scand. source (cf. O.N. klekja "to hatch").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary
clutch (up) definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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American Heritage
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Example sentences
Maybe then those aging boomers would stop side-stepping the clutch pedal.
They would clutch each other's mouths and stare, groan a couple of time and then walk away, feeling bored.
Her short fingers clutch a cigarette rolled in a corn husk.
In pianists, for example, the fingers might clutch inward involuntarily every time they attempt to strike a key.
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