Definition of Clutch

1. Verb. Take hold of; grab. "Birds of prey often seize small mammals"

Exact synonyms: Prehend, Seize
Specialized synonyms: Nab, Rack, Claw, Apprehend, Arrest, Collar, Cop, Nab, Nail, Pick Up, Capture, Catch, Get, Collar, Clasp, Grip, Grab, Catch, Grab, Take Hold Of, Snap, Snatch, Snatch Up, Clench, Clinch, Grapple, Grip
Generic synonyms: Get Hold Of, Take
Derivative terms: Prehension, Seizing

2. Noun. The act of grasping. "She kept a firm hold on the railing"
Exact synonyms: Clasp, Clench, Clutches, Grasp, Grip, Hold
Specialized synonyms: Choke Hold, Chokehold, Embrace, Embracement, Embracing, Wrestling Hold
Generic synonyms: Grasping, Prehension, Seizing, Taking Hold
Derivative terms: Clasp, Clasp, Clench, Grasp, Grip, Grip, Hold

3. Verb. Hold firmly, usually with one's hands. "She clutched my arm when she got scared"
Exact synonyms: Cling To, Hold Close, Hold Tight
Generic synonyms: Hold, Take Hold
Specialized synonyms: Cuddle, Draw Close, Nest, Nestle, Nuzzle, Snuggle

4. Noun. A tense critical situation. "He is a good man in the clutch"
Generic synonyms: Temporary State

5. Verb. Affect. "He was seized with a dreadful disease"
Exact synonyms: Get Hold Of, Seize
Generic synonyms: Overcome, Overpower, Overtake, Overwhelm, Sweep Over, Whelm

6. Noun. A number of birds hatched at the same time.
Generic synonyms: Brood

7. Noun. A collection of things or persons to be handled together.
Exact synonyms: Batch
Generic synonyms: Accumulation, Aggregation, Assemblage, Collection
Specialized synonyms: Schmear, Schmeer, Shmear
Derivative terms: Batch

8. Noun. A woman's strapless purse that is carried in the hand.
Exact synonyms: Clutch Bag
Generic synonyms: Bag, Handbag, Pocketbook, Purse

9. Noun. A pedal or lever that engages or disengages a rotating shaft and a driving mechanism. "He smoothely released the clutch with one foot and stepped on the gas with the other"
Exact synonyms: Clutch Pedal
Generic synonyms: Foot Lever, Foot Pedal, Pedal, Treadle

10. Noun. A coupling that connects or disconnects driving and driven parts of a driving mechanism. "This year's model has an improved clutch"
Terms within: Clutch Pedal
Generic synonyms: Coupler, Coupling
Specialized synonyms: Freewheel, Friction Clutch
Group relationships: Transmission, Transmission System

Definition of Clutch

1. n. A gripe or clinching with, or as with, the fingers or claws; seizure; grasp.

2. v. t. To seize, clasp, or gripe with the hand, hands, or claws; -- often figuratively; as, to clutch power.

3. v. i. To reach (at something) as if to grasp; to catch or snatch; -- often followed by at.

Definition of Clutch

1. Noun. A device to interrupt power transmission, commonly used between engine and gearbox in a car. ¹

2. Noun. The pedal in a car that disengages power transmission. ¹

3. Noun. A hand or claw, when it is grasping something firmly. ¹

4. Noun. A small handbag or purse with no straps or handle. ¹

5. Noun. A group or bunch, especially of eggs or baby birds. ¹

6. Noun. An important or critical situation. ¹

7. Verb. To grip or grasp tightly. ¹

8. Adjective. (American English) Tending to perform well in difficult, high-pressure situations. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Clutch

1. to grasp and hold tightly [v -ED, -ING, -ES]

Lexicographical Neighbors of Clutch

clusterin
clustering
clusteringly
clusterings
clusterisation
clusterization
clusterized
clusterlike
clusters
clustery
clustrocentric
clutch (current term)
clutch bag
clutch bags
clutch initiation
clutch initiations
clutch pedal
clutched
clutches
clutching
clutchless
clutchness
clutcht
clutchy
clutter
clutter up

Literary usage of Clutch

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Dyke's Automobile and Gasoline Engine Encyclopedia by Andrew Lee Dyke (1920)
"This indicates that the facing of the clutch brake («ee fig. ... This may be due to either excess oil in the clutch casing or to worn friction rings; ..."

2. Bulletin by United States Bureau of war risk insurance. Division of military and naval insurance, United States (1917)
"With what material is a cone clutch generally faced to give smoothness of engagement? 499. ... What is done to make the action of a cone clutch more smooth? ..."

3. Scientific American Reference Book by Albert Allis Hopkins, Alexander Russell Bond (1913)
"COMMON JAW clutch.—One member of the clutch is mounted to slide on a feathered ... CLAW clutch.—The slidable member of the clutch consists of a body portion ..."

4. Mechanisms and Mechanical Movements: A Treatise on Different Types of by Franklin Day Jones (1918)
"Pneumatically-operated Multiple-disk clutch is admitted back of the circular piston H, which holds the disks firmly together when the clutch is engaged. ..."

5. Psychology: A Study of Mental Life by Robert Sessions Woodworth (1921)
"Next time, perhaps, he thinks " clutch " when he gets the brake-stimulus, and this thought, being itself a clutch-stimulus, arouses the clutch-response ..."

6. Questions and Answers Relating to Modern Automobile Design, Construction by Victor Wilfred Pagé (1921)
"A tyj plant, clutch, and gearset assembly is outlined at Fig. ... The motor flywheel serves as one the clutch and is machined with a taper into which the c< ..."

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