clutch

(noun, adjective, verb)

adjective

1. (US, Canada) Performing or tending to perform well in difficult, high-pressure situations.

noun

1. the act of grasping

Similar word(s): clasp, clench, clutches, grasp, grip, hold

Definition categories: act, grasping, prehension, seizing

2. a tense critical situation

- he is a good man in the clutch

Definition categories: state

3. a number of birds hatched at the same time

Definition categories: group, brood

4. a collection of things or persons to be handled together

Similar word(s): batch

Definition categories: group, accumulation, aggregation, assemblage, collection

5. a woman's strapless purse that is carried in the hand

Definition categories: man–made, bag, handbag, pocketbook, purse

6. a pedal or lever that engages or disengages a rotating shaft and a driving mechanism

- he smoothely released the clutch with one foot and stepped on the gas with the other

Definition categories: man–made, pedal, treadle

7. a coupling that connects or disconnects driving and driven parts of a driving mechanism

- this year's model has an improved clutch

Definition categories: man–made, coupler, coupling

verb

1. take hold of; grab

- She clutched her purse

Similar word(s): prehend, seize

Definition categories: contact, take

2. hold firmly, usually with one's hands

- She clutched my arm when she got scared

Definition categories: contact, hold

3. affect

Similar word(s): seize

Definition categories: cognition, overcome, overpower, overtake, overwhelm, whelm

Sentences with clutch as a verb:

- to clutch power

- She clutched her purse tightly and walked nervously into the building.