What does "clutch" mean?
The claw of a predatory animal or bird.
Clutch
/klʌt͡ʃ/ adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The claw of a predatory animal or bird.
- Grammar: clutch is listed as adj, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: grasp, grip, hold, abduct.
- Useful contrasts: abandon, backpack, cease.
- Usage evidence: Repeatedly slamming the clutch pedal, I somehow managed to get the clutch disengaged so I could just about drive for the time being.
How to use "clutch"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "clutch" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "clutch" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "clutch" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "clutch" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "clutch" is acting as adj, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "grasp" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "clutch", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The claw of a predatory animal or bird.
- 2 A brood of chickens or a sitting of eggs; a sitting. collective
"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."
- 3 the act of grasping wordnet
- 4 A grip, especially one seen as rapacious or evil. broadly
"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; […]"
- 5 A group or bunch (of people or things). collective
"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."
Show 13 more definitions
- 6 a coupling that connects or disconnects driving and driven parts of a driving mechanism wordnet
- 7 A device to interrupt power transmission, commonly used to separate the engine and gearbox in a car.
- 8 a pedal or lever that engages or disengages a rotating shaft and a driving mechanism wordnet
- 9 The pedal in a car that disengages power and torque transmission from the engine (through the drivetrain) to the drive wheels.
- 10 a woman's strapless purse that is carried in the hand wordnet
- 11 Any device for gripping an object, as at the end of a chain or tackle.
- 12 a collection of things or persons to be handled together wordnet
- 13 A fastener that attaches to the back of a tack pin to secure an accessory to clothing. (See Clutch (pin fastener).)
- 14 a number of birds hatched at the same time wordnet
- 15 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."
- 16 a tense critical situation wordnet
- 17 An important or critical situation. US
"to come in clutch"
- 18 A difficult maneuver.
Verb
- 1 To seize, as though with claws. transitive
"to clutch power"
- 2 To hatch. collective, transitive
- 3 affect wordnet
- 4 To grip or grasp tightly. transitive
"She clutched her purse tightly and walked nervously into the building."
- 5 take into your hands deliberately wordnet
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 To win despite being the only remaining player on one's team, against several opponents.
"For quotations using this term, see Citations:clutch."
- 7 hold firmly, usually with one's hands wordnet
- 8 To unexpectedly or luckily succeed in a difficult activity. broadly
Adjective
- 1 Performing or tending to perform well in difficult, high-pressure situations. Canada, US
"NC State made the most of their overtime possession scoring a touchdown on some very clutch plays."
Example
"Repeatedly slamming the clutch pedal, I somehow managed to get the clutch disengaged so I could just about drive for the time being."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "clutch"?
Common synonyms include: grasp, grip, hold, abduct, accelerator, acquire.
How do you use "clutch" in a sentence?
Repeatedly slamming the clutch pedal, I somehow managed to get the clutch disengaged so I could just about drive for the time being.
How do you pronounce "clutch"?
Pronounced /klʌt͡ʃ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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”).
Etymology 2
Variant form of cletch, from Middle English cleken (“to hatch”), perhaps from Old Norse klekja (“to hatch”).