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Meaning of clutch in English
Pronunciation
/klətʃ/
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Verb
clutch
Etymology
Middle English (in the sense ‘bend, crook’): variant of obsolete clitch ‘close the hand’, from Old Englishclyccan ‘crook, clench’, of Germanic origin
Definitions
1.
take hold of
Examples
« grab »
« The salesclerk quickly seized the money on the counter »
« She clutched her purse »
« The mother seized her child by the arm »
« Birds of prey often seize small mammals »
2.
hold firmly, usually with one's hands
Examples
« She clutched my arm when she got scared »
3.
affect
Examples
« Fear seized the prisoners »
« The patient was seized with unberable pains »
« He was seized with a dreadful disease »
Noun
clutch
Etymology
early 18th century: probably a southern variant of northern English dialect cletch, related to Middle Englishcleck ‘to hatch’, from Old Norse klekja
Definitions
1.
the act of grasping
Examples
« he released his clasp on my arm »
« he has a strong grip for an old man »
« she kept a firm hold on the railing »
2.
a tense critical situation
Examples
« he is a good man in the clutch »
3.
a number of birds hatched at the same time
4.
a collection of things or persons to be handled together
5.
a pedal that operates a clutch
6.
a coupling that connects or disconnects driving and driven parts of a driving mechanism