clutch

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English

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /klʌt͡ʃ/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ʌtʃ

Etymology 1

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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”).

Alternative forms

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Verb

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clutch (third-person singular simple present clutches, present participle clutching, simple past and past participle clutched)

  1. To seize, as though with claws. [from 14th c.]
    to clutch power
  2. To grip or grasp tightly. [from 17th c.]
    Synonyms: clasp, grasp, grip; see also Thesaurus:grasp
    She clutched her purse tightly and walked nervously into the building.
  3. (video games) To win despite being the only remaining player on one's team, against several opponents.
  4. (video games, by extension) To unexpectedly or luckily succeed in a difficult activity.
Derived terms
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Translations
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Noun

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clutch (plural clutches)

A vintage clutch with a fold-over closure, made of red snakeskin.
  1. The claw of a predatory animal or bird. [from 13th c.]
  2. (by extension) A grip, especially one seen as rapacious or evil. [from 16th c.]
    • 1676, Ed[ward] Stillingfleet, “An Answer to T[homas] G[odden]’s Charge of Contradictions, Paradoxes, Reproach of the Second Council of Nice, School Disputes; and to His Parallel Instances”, in A Discourse Concerning the Idolatry Practised in the Church of Rome, […], London: […] Robert White for Henry Mortlock […], →OCLC, part II (Being a Particular Defence of the Charge of Idolatry against the Church of Rome in the Worship of Images), page 786:
      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; […]
    • 1785, William Cowper, “Book V. The Winter Morning Walk.”, in The Task, a Poem, […], London: […] J[oseph] Johnson;  […], →OCLC, page 197:
      Should when he pleaſes, and on whom he will / Wage war, with any or with no pretence / Of provocation, giv'n or wrong ſuſtained, / And force the beggarly laſt doit, by means / That his own humour dictates, from the clutch / Of poverty, that thus he may procure / His thouſands weary of penurious life / A ſplendid opportunity to die?
    • 1831, Thomas Carlyle, chapter III, in Sartor Resartus: The Life and Opinions of Herr Teufelsdröckh. […], London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, 1st book, page 12:
      The more cunning heads thought it was all an expiring clutch at popularity, on the part of a Minister, whom domestic embarrassments, court intrigues, old age, and dropsy soon afterward finally drove from the helm.
    • 1919, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, chapter LVII, in The Moon and Sixpence, [New York, N.Y.]: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers […], →OCLC, page 303:
      You scold yourself; you know it is only your nerves—and yet, and yet … In a little while, it is impossible to resist the terror that seizes you, and you are helpless in the clutch of an unseen horror.
  3. A device to interrupt power transmission, commonly used to separate the engine and gearbox in a car. [from 19th c.]
    Hyponyms: centrifugal clutch, dog clutch, friction clutch
  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.
    Synonym: clutch bag
    • [1898], J[ohn] Meade Falkner, Moonfleet, London; Toronto, Ont.: Jonathan Cape, published 1934, →OCLC:
      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
    • 1951 October 8, “Baseball: A Great Year”, in LIFE, page 48:
      And when it came to the clutch, Johnny Mize, who was washed up five years ago, would crack out a pinch double, or Mickey Mantle, who is not yet ready for the big leagues, would slam out a home run.
    • 1985 June 1, Johannes Telesaar, “Camarillo Loses in the 4-A Final by a Foot at First”, in Los Angeles Times‎[1]:
      He is the player who has come through so often in the clutch during his days at Camarillo.
    • 2013 May 14, Paul Ingrassia, Joseph B. White, Comeback: The Fall & Rise of the American Automobile Industry‎[2], Simon and Schuster, →ISBN:
      Stempel came through in the clutch again. GM's across-the-board launch of the catalytic converter was a coup that left Ford and Chrysler gaspind in the dust.
    • 2016 May 1, Frank Bruni, “Jodie Foster Is Still Afraid of Failure”, in The New York Times‎[3]:
      But not just strong women: women who don’t turn to a man in the clutch; women whose strength is inseparable from the walls they’ve built around themselves.
  9. A difficult maneuver.
    (Can we add an example for this sense?)
Derived terms
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Descendants
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  • → Dutch: kluts (“clutch”)
Translations
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Adjective

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clutch (comparative more clutch, superlative most clutch)

  1. (US, Canada) Performing or tending to perform well in difficult, high-pressure situations.
    • 2006, Bryan Hogan, Three Days for Goodbye‎[4], page 19:
      NC State made the most of their overtime possession scoring a touchdown on some very clutch plays.
    • 2009, Scott Trocchia, The 2006 Yankees: The Frustration of a Nation, A Fan's Perspective, page 21:
      I start with his most obvious characteristic: he was clutch. He is Mr. Clutch. In the last chapter I mentioned that Bernie Williams was clutch, which was a valid assessment, but nobody on the Yankees was as clutch as Jeter was.
    • 2009, Mark Stewart, Clutch Performers, →ISBN, page 34:
      It doesn't get more clutch than that!

Etymology 2

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

Noun

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clutch (plural clutches) (collective)

  1. A brood of chickens or a sitting of eggs; a sitting. [from 18th c.]
    • 1976, Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene, Kindle edition, OUP Oxford, published 2016, page 82:
      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. A group or bunch (of people or things). [from 20th c.]
    • 2012 September 22, “Innovation in Government: Britain's Local Labs”, in The Economist‎[5]:
      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.
    • 2021 February 3, Drachinifel, 15:30 from the start, in Guadalcanal Campaign - Santa Cruz (IJN 2 : 2 USN)‎[6], archived from the original on 4 December 2022:
      And, so, although the Zeros knocked out four dive bombers (two of them permanently and two forced to abort), the other eleven made it to a position above Shōkaku, which pulled a neat evasive turn that sent the first clutch of thousand-pound bombs into the sea.
Derived terms
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Translations
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Verb

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clutch (third-person singular simple present clutches, present participle clutching, simple past and past participle clutched)

  1. (transitive) To hatch.
Derived terms
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References

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Anagrams

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Norwegian Bokmål

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Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia no

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From English clutch.

Noun

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clutch m (definite singular clutchen, indefinite plural clutcher, definite plural clutchene)

  1. a clutch (device between engine and gearbox)
  2. clutch pedal
    trå in clutchen - step on the clutch

Synonyms

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References

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Norwegian Nynorsk

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From English clutch.

Noun

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clutch m (definite singular clutchen, indefinite plural clutchar, definite plural clutchane)

  1. a clutch (device between engine and gearbox)
  2. (short form of) clutch pedal (as in English)

Synonyms

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References

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Spanish

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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clutch m (plural clutches)

  1. Alternative form of cloche
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