clutch

• POS: Noun, Verb (intransitive), Verb (transitive)

CIDE DICTIONARY

clutch, n. [OE. cloche, cloke, claw, Scot. clook, cleuck, also OE. cleche claw, clechen, cleken, to seize; cf. AS. gelæccan (where ge- is a prefix) to seize. Cf. Latch a catch.].

•  A gripe or clinching with, or as with, the fingers or claws; seizure; grasp.  Cowper.  [1913 Webster]

  "An expiring clutch at popularity."  [1913 Webster]

  "But Age, with his stealing steps,
  Hath clawed me in his clutch."  [1913 Webster]
•  The hands, claws, or talons, in the act of grasping firmly; -- often figuratively, for power, rapacity, or cruelty; as, to fall into the clutches of an adversary.  [1913 Webster]

  "I must have . . . little care of myself, if I ever more come near the clutches of such a giant."  [1913 Webster]
•  A device which is used for coupling shafting, etc., so as to transmit motion, and which may be disengaged at pleasure.  [1913 Webster]
•  Any device for gripping an object, as at the end of a chain or tackle.  [1913 Webster]
•  The nest complement of eggs of a bird.  [1913 Webster]

Bayonet clutch (Mach.), a clutch in which connection is made by means of bayonets attached to arms sliding on a feathered shaft. The bayonets slide through holes in a crosshead fastened on the shaft.

clutch, v. t. [OE. clucchen. See Clutch, n.].

•  To seize, clasp, or grip with the hand, hands, or claws; -- often figuratively; as, to clutch power.  [1913 Webster]

  "A man may set the poles together in his head, and clutch the whole globe at one intellectual grasp."  [1913 Webster]

  "Is this a dagger which I see before me . . . ?
  Come, let me clutch thee."  [1913 Webster]
•  To close tightly; to clinch.  [1913 Webster]

  "Not that I have the power to clutch my hand."  [1913 Webster]

clutch, v. i. 

•  To reach (at something) as if to grasp; to catch or snatch; -- often followed by at.  [1913 Webster]
•  to become too tense or frightened to perform properly; used sometimes with up; as, he clutched up on the exam.  [PJC]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

clutch, v. & n.
--v.
1 tr. seize eagerly; grasp tightly.
2 intr. (foll. by at) snatch suddenly.
--n.
1 a a tight grasp. b (foll. by at) grasping.
2 (in pl.) grasping hands, esp. as representing a cruel or relentless grasp or control.
3 a (in a motor vehicle) a device for connecting and disconnecting the engine to the transmission. b the pedal operating this. c an arrangement for connecting or disconnecting working parts of a machine.

Idiom

clutch bag a slim flat handbag without handles.

clutch, n.
1 a set of eggs for hatching.
2 a brood of chickens.

Etymology

18th c.: prob. S.Engl. var. of cletch f. cleck to hatch f. ON klekja, assoc. with CLUTCH(1)

THESAURUS

clutch

abduct, adhere to, amount, array, batch, bear hug, bind, bite, body, brood, budget, bunch, bundle, carry off, catch, cherish, chunk, clamp, clasp, cleave to, clench, climacteric, clinch, cling, clinging, clip, clump, cluster, clutches, complication, cone clutch, control, convergence of events, count, crisis, critical juncture, critical point, crossroads, crucial period, crunch, deal, death grip, disk clutch, dominance, domination, dose, embarrassing position, embarrassment, embrace, emergency, exigency, extremity, farrow, fine how-do-you-do, firm hold, foothold, footing, freeze to, friction clutch, fry, get, gob, grab, grapple, grasp, grip, gripe, group, hang on, hang on to, harbor, hatch, heap, hell to pay, high pressure, hinge, hobble, hold, hold fast, hold on, hold on to, hold tight, hot water, how-do-you-do, hug, hunk, imbroglio, imperativeness, influence, iron grip, jam, keep, keep hold of, kidnap, large amount, lay hold of, litter, lot, measure, mess, mix, morass, multiple-disk clutch, nab, nail, nest, never let go, nip, number, pack, parcel, parlous straits, part, pass, pickle, pinch, plate clutch, plight, portion, possession, power, predicament, press, pressure, pretty pass, pretty pickle, pretty predicament, purchase, push, quagmire, quantity, quicksand, ration, rim clutch, rub, scrape, seize, seizure, set, shanghai, slip friction clutch, slough, small amount, snag, snatch, spat, spawn, spot, squeeze, stew, stick to, sticky wicket, strait, straits, stress, sum, swamp, take, take hold of, tension, tenure, throttle, tight grip, tight spot, tight squeeze, tightrope, toehold, tricky spot, turn, turning point, unholy mess, urgency, young

ROGET THESAURUS

clutch

Retention

VB retain, keep, hold fast one's own, hold tight one's own, hold fast one's ground, hold tight one's ground, clinch, clench, clutch, grasp, gripe, hug, have a firm hold of, secure, withhold, detain, hold back, keep back, keep close, husband, reserve, have in stock, have on hand, keep in stock, entail, tie up, settle.

Taking

N taking, reception, deglutition, appropriation, prehension, prensation, capture, caption, apprehension, deprehension, abreption, seizure, expropriation, abduction, ablation, subtraction, withdrawal, abstraction, ademption, adrolepsy, dispossession, deprivation, deprivement, bereavement, divestment, disherison, distraint, distress, sequestration, confiscation, eviction, rapacity, rapaciousness, extortion, vampirism, theft, resumption, reprise, reprisal, recovery, clutch, swoop, wrench, grip, haul, take, catch, scramble, taker, captor, subduction, taking, privative, prehensile, predaceous, predal, predatory, predatorial, lupine, rapacious, raptorial, ravenous, parasitic, bereft, at one fell swoop, give an inch and take an ell.

VB take, catch, hook, nab, bag, sack, pocket, put into one's pocket, receive, accept, reap, crop, cull, pluck, gather, draw, appropriate, expropriate, impropriate, assume, possess oneself of, take possession of, commandeer, lay one's hands on, clap one's hands on, help oneself to, make free with, dip one's hands into, lay under contribution, intercept, scramble for, deprive of, take away, carry away, bear away, take off, carry off, bear off, adeem, abstract, hurry off with, run away with, abduct, steal, ravish, seize, pounce upon, spring upon, swoop to, swoop down upon, take by storm, take by assault, snatch, reave, snap up, nip up, whip up, catch up, kidnap, crimp, capture, lay violent hands on, get hold of, lay hold of, take hold of, catch hold of, lay fast hold of, take firm hold of, lay by the heels, take prisoner, fasten upon, grip, grapple, embrace, gripe, clasp, grab, clutch, collar, throttle, take by the throat, claw, clinch, clench, make sure of, catch at, jump at, make a grab at, snap at, snatch at, reach, make a long arm, stretch forth one's hand, take from, take away from, disseize, deduct, retrench, dispossess, ease one of, snatch from one's grasp, tear from, tear away from, wrench from, wrest from, wring from, extort, deprive of, bereave, disinherit, cut off with a shilling, oust, divest, levy, distrain, confiscate, sequester, sequestrate, accroach, usurp, despoil, strip, fleece, shear, displume, impoverish, eat out of house and home, drain, drain to the dregs, gut, dry, exhaust, swallow up, absorb, draw off, suck the blood of, suck like a leech, retake, resume, recover.