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clutch

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clutch¹

  • /ˈklʌt͡ʃ/
  • [ˈkʰl̥ʌt͡ʃ]

Rhymes with -ʌtʃ

Where it comes from

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”).

verb clutches · clutching · clutched · cletch · clitch

  1. transitive To seize, as though with claws. to clutch power
  2. transitive To grip or grasp tightly. She clutched her purse tightly and walked nervously into the building.
  3. To win despite being the only remaining player on one's team, against several opponents. For quotations using this term, see Citations:clutch.
  4. broadly To unexpectedly or luckily succeed in a difficult activity.

noun clutches · cletch · clitch · cleach · cleak · cleek

  1. The claw of a predatory animal or bird.
  2. broadly A grip, especially one seen as rapacious or evil. I muſt have great leiſure, and little care of my ſelf, if I ever more come near the Clutches of ſuch a Giant, who ſeems to write with a Beetle inſtead of a Pen; […]
  3. A device to interrupt power transmission, commonly used to separate the engine and gearbox in a car.
  4. The pedal in a car that disengages power and torque transmission from the engine (through the drivetrain) to the drive wheels.
  5. Any device for gripping an object, as at the end of a chain or tackle.
  6. A fastener that attaches to the back of a tack pin to secure an accessory to clothing. (See Clutch (pin fastener).)
  7. A small handbag or purse with no straps or handle. The clutch which I had made to save myself in falling had torn away from this chin-band and let the lower jaw drop on the breast, but little else was disturbed, and there was Colonel John Mohune resting as he had been laid out a century ago.
  8. US An important or critical situation. to come in clutch
  9. A difficult maneuver.

adjective more clutch · most clutch · cletch · clitch · cleach · cleak

  1. Canada, US Performing or tending to perform well in difficult, high-pressure situations. NC State made the most of their overtime possession scoring a touchdown on some very clutch plays.

clutch²

  • /ˈklʌt͡ʃ/
  • [ˈkʰl̥ʌt͡ʃ]

Rhymes with -ʌtʃ

Where it comes from

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

noun clutches

  1. collective A brood of chickens or a sitting of bird, monotreme or reptile eggs; a sitting. For instance, baby chicks influence their mother’s behaviour by giving high piercing cheeps when they are lost or cold. This usually has the immediate effect of summoning the mother, who leads the chick back to the main clutch.
  2. collective A group or bunch (of people or things). No longer would Britons routinely blame the national government when things went wrong. Instead they would demand action from a new clutch of elected mayors, police commissioners and the like.

verb clutches · clutching · clutched

  1. collective, transitive To hatch.

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