clutch

CEFRB2

/ˈklʌt͡ʃ/

verb · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To hold something tightly, often because of fear or pain.

  2. 02

    noun

    A group of eggs or young birds produced at one time.

Examples

  • Careless use of the clutch may damage the gears.

  • Drowning men clutch at straws.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • [ˈkʰl̥ʌt͡ʃ]

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

  1. To grip or grasp tightly.

  2. To win despite being the only remaining player on one's team, against several opponents.

noun

Extra meaning

  1. A device that connects or separates parts in a vehicle.

More examples

In context

  • He'll clutch at any straw.

  • For quotations using this term, see Citations:clutch.

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

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

She used her left foot to press the blank pedal when shifting gears in the car.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

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;...