I. ˈkləch verb
Etymology: Middle English clucchen, from Old English clyccan
Date: before 12th century
transitive verb
1. : to grasp or hold with or as if with the hand or claws usually strongly, tightly, or suddenly
2. obsolete : clench
intransitive verb
1. : to seek to grasp and hold
clutch ed at her hand
2. : to operate an automobile clutch
Synonyms: see take
II. noun
Date: 13th century
1.
a. : the claws or a hand in the act of grasping or seizing firmly
b. : an often cruel or unrelenting control, power, or possession
the fell clutch of circumstance — W. E. Henley
c. : the act of grasping, holding, or restraining
2.
a. : a coupling used to connect and disconnect a driving and a driven part (as an engine and a transmission) of a mechanism
b. : a lever (as a pedal) operating such a clutch
3. : a tight or critical situation : pinch
come through in the clutch
4. : clutch bag
III. adjective
Date: 1944
1. : made or done in a crucial situation
a clutch hit
2. : successful in a crucial situation
a clutch pitcher
IV. noun
Etymology: alteration of dialect English cletch hatching, brood
Date: 1721
1. : a nest of eggs or a brood of chicks
2. : group , bunch