ENGLISH
REFERENCE

clutch

v. · n. · adj.
US //ˈkɫətʃ// UK //klˈʌtʃ// clutch
  1. 1 to grip tightly (v.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    to hold something very tightly, often because you are nervous, in pain, or afraid.

    to grasp or seize something tightly and eagerly, often as a result of fear, anxiety, or physical distress.

    Example

    She clutched her bag tightly as she walked through the crowded station.

    Example

    The survivor clutched the railing with white-knuckled intensity, refusing to let go until the rescue team reached the platform.
  2. 2 car part (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    the pedal or part in a car that you use when changing gears.

    a mechanism for connecting and disconnecting a vehicle's engine from its transmission system.

    Example

    You need to press the clutch down fully before you change gears.

    Example

    The driver felt the clutch slipping during the steep ascent, suggesting that the friction plates were severely worn.

    Usage

    In British English, it usually refers to the pedal; in technical contexts, it refers to the internal plates.

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  1. 3 a small handbag (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    a small, flat handbag without handles, usually carried at formal events.

    a slim, strapless handbag designed to be held in the hand or under the arm.

    Example

    She chose a silver clutch to match her evening dress for the wedding.

    Example

    The celebrity posed on the red carpet, holding a designer clutch that contained only her phone and a lipstick.
  2. 4 a group (n.)
    C1 Advanced Literary

    a small group of people or things.

    a collective noun for a group of things or people, or a hatch of eggs.

    Example

    A clutch of reporters waited outside the courthouse for the verdict.

    Example

    The hen sat patiently on her clutch of eggs, ignoring the noise from the nearby farm machinery.
  3. 5 power or control (n.)
    C1 Advanced Literary

    the power or control that someone has over you, usually in a bad way.

    the grasp or control of someone, typically perceived as predatory, cruel, or inescapable.

    Example

    The hero managed to escape from the villain's clutches just in time.

    Example

    The small nation struggled to free its economy from the clutches of the international banking conglomerate.

    Usage

    Usually used in the plural form 'clutches'.
  4. 6 successful under pressure (adj.)
    C1 Advanced American English Slang Sport

    describing a person or action that succeeds in a very difficult, high-pressure moment.

    denoting a person or performance that is successful in a critical or high-stakes situation.

    Example

    He made a clutch shot in the final seconds to win the game.

    Example

    The quarterback's clutch performance in the fourth quarter secured the team's place in the playoffs despite the mounting pressure.
Etymology 1

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”).

Etymology 2

Variant form of cletch, from Middle English cleken (“to hatch”), perhaps from Old Norse klekja (“to hatch”).

Idioms1 entry

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