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Clutch   /klətʃ/   Listen
noun
Clutch  n.  
1.
A gripe or clinching with, or as with, the fingers or claws; seizure; grasp. "The clutch of poverty." "An expiring clutch at popularity." "But Age, with his stealing steps, Hath clawed me in his clutch."
2.
pl. 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. "I must have... little care of myself, if I ever more come near the clutches of such a giant."
3.
(Mach.) A device which is used for coupling shafting, etc., so as to transmit motion, and which may be disengaged at pleasure.
4.
Any device for gripping an object, as at the end of a chain or tackle.
5.
(Zool.) The nest complement of eggs of a bird.
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.


verb
Clutch  v. t.  (past & past part. clutched; pres. part. clutching)  
1.
To seize, clasp, or grip with the hand, hands, or claws; often figuratively; as, to clutch power. "A man may set the poles together in his head, and clutch the whole globe at one intellectual grasp." "Is this a dagger which I see before me...? Come, let me clutch thee."
2.
To close tightly; to clinch. "Not that I have the power to clutch my hand."


Clutch  v. i.  
1.
To reach (at something) as if to grasp; to catch or snatch; often followed by at.
2.
To become too tense or frightened to perform properly; used sometimes with up; as, he clutched up on the exam.





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Clutch" Quotes from Famous Books



... moment and put his hand to his head. The wold of vivid green grew gray, and life rceded from him into illimitable distance. He had one dim fading glimpse of a shaggy-bearded face looking down at him, and felt the clutch of an iron-hard strong arm under him, and then he lost hold even on ...
— Main-Travelled Roads • Hamlin Garland
... a dagger, which I see before me, The handle toward my hand? come, let me clutch thee:— I have thee not; and yet I see thee still. Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible To feeling as to sight, or art thou but A dagger of the mind—a false creation, Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain? I see thee yet, in form as palpable As this which now I draw. Thou ...
— The American Union Speaker • John D. Philbrick
... I felt as if I was beginning to fly right off over the blue sea, and away into the fleecy clouds, and as I made an effort to get rid of the clutch upon my shoulder, he said, ...
— Sail Ho! - A Boy at Sea • George Manville Fenn
... something in the air—the balm of advancing spring; a faint chill, the Parthian shot of retreating winter; some psychic apprehension of the rising sap; the slight northing of the sun; or some subconscious clutch at knowledge of minute alterations in the landscape—apprised Mr. Brassfield's strangely circumscribed mind of the maladjustment with time resulting from the reign of Amidon. But however bewildered Florian's mentality ...
— Double Trouble - Or, Every Hero His Own Villain • Herbert Quick
... nature punishes any neglect of prudence. If you think the senses final, obey their law. If you believe in the soul, do not clutch at sensual sweetness before it is ripe on the slow tree of cause and effect. It is vinegar to the eyes to deal with men of loose and imperfect perception. Dr. Johnson is reported to have said,[669]—"If the child says ...
— Essays • Ralph Waldo Emerson


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