Definitions
01to grip tightly
B2 · Upper Intermediate
v. to hold something very tightly, often because you are nervous, in pain, or afraid.
v. to grasp or seize something tightly and eagerly, often as a result of fear, anxiety, or physical distress.
“She clutched her bag tightly as she walked through the crowded station.”
“The survivor clutched the railing with white-knuckled intensity, refusing to let go until the rescue team reached the platform.”
02car part
B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun
n. the pedal or part in a car that you use when changing gears.
n. a mechanism for connecting and disconnecting a vehicle's engine from its transmission system.
“You need to press the clutch down fully before you change gears.”
“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.
03a small handbag
B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun
n. a small, flat handbag without handles, usually carried at formal events.
n. a slim, strapless handbag designed to be held in the hand or under the arm.
“She chose a silver clutch to match her evening dress for the wedding.”
“The celebrity posed on the red carpet, holding a designer clutch that contained only her phone and a lipstick.”
04a group
C1 · Advanced Countable noun Literary
n. a small group of people or things.
n. a collective noun for a group of things or people, or a hatch of eggs.
“A clutch of reporters waited outside the courthouse for the verdict.”
“The hen sat patiently on her clutch of eggs, ignoring the noise from the nearby farm machinery.”
05power or control
C1 · Advanced Plural noun Literary
n. the power or control that someone has over you, usually in a bad way.
n. the grasp or control of someone, typically perceived as predatory, cruel, or inescapable.
“The hero managed to escape from the villain's clutches just in time.”
“The small nation struggled to free its economy from the clutches of the international banking conglomerate.”
Usage
Usually used in the plural form 'clutches'.
06successful under pressure
C1 · Advanced Sports American English · Slang
adj. describing a person or action that succeeds in a very difficult, high-pressure moment.
adj. denoting a person or performance that is successful in a critical or high-stakes situation.
“He made a clutch shot in the final seconds to win the game.”
“The quarterback's clutch performance in the fourth quarter secured the team's place in the playoffs despite the mounting pressure.”
Real-World Examples
“He remembers the soundless way his mother cried; how his father clutched at her coffin.” “S ome clutch their phones, or sit by a computer.” Etymology
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”).
Variant form of cletch, from Middle English cleken (“to hatch”), perhaps from Old Norse klekja (“to hatch”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Idioms
01. clutch artist
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.B2 FirstIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.5.5–6.5TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 4.0–4.572–94TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.785–944
- Frequency
- Frequent
- Level
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Updated
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「カタカナ語」 data: JMdict (EDRDG), CC BY-SA 4.0
‘외래어’ data: 한국어기초사전 (국립국어원), CC BY-SA 2.0 KR