clutches

clutch ¹  (klch)

v. clutched, clutch·ing, clutch·es

v.tr.

1. To grasp and hold tightly.

2. To seize; snatch.

v.intr.

1. To attempt to grasp or seize: clutch at a life raft.

2. To engage or disengage a motor vehicle's clutch.

n.

1. A hand, claw, talon, or paw in the act of grasping.

2. A tight grasp.

3. Control or power. Often used in the plural: caught in the clutches of sin.

4. A device for gripping and holding.

5.

a. Any of various devices for engaging and disengaging two working parts of a shaft or of a shaft and a driving mechanism.

b. The apparatus, such as a lever or pedal, that activates one of these devices.

6. A tense, critical situation: came through in the clutch.

7. A clutch bag.

adj. Informal

1. Being or occurring in a tense or critical situation: won the championship by sinking a clutch putt.

2. Tending to be successful in tense or critical situations: The coach relied on her clutch pitcher.

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[Middle English clucchen, from Old English clyccan.]

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clutch ²  (klch)

n.

1. The complete set of eggs produced or incubated at one time.

2. A brood of chickens.

3. A group; a bunch.

tr.v. clutched, clutch·ing, clutch·es

To hatch (chicks).

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[Variant of dialectal cletch; akin to Middle English clekken, to hatch, from Old Norse klekja.]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

clutches - the act of grasping; "he released his clasp on my arm"; "he has a strong grip for an old man"; "she kept a firm hold on the railing" clutch, grip, hold, clasp, clench, grasp choke hold, chokehold - a restraining hold; someone loops the arm around the neck of another person in a tight grip, usually from behind; "he grabbed the woman in a chokehold, demanded her cash and jewelry, and then fled" embrace, embracement, embracing - the act of clasping another person in the arms (as in greeting or affection) prehension, taking hold, grasping, seizing - the act of gripping something firmly with the hands (or the tentacles) wrestling hold - a hold used in the sport of wrestling