- clutch
- I UK [klʌtʃ] / US
verb
Word forms "clutch":
present tense I/you/we/they clutch he/she/it clutches present participle clutching past tense clutched past participle clutched
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a) [transitive] to hold someone or something firmly, for example because you are afraid or in pain, or do not want to lose themWomen clutched small children as they left.
b) [intransitive] to try to take hold of someone or something because you are afraid or in pain, or in order to stop yourself from fallingclutch at:An officer stumbled and clutched at the handrail.
•See:straw
II UK [klʌtʃ] / US noun
Word forms "clutch":
singular clutch plural clutches
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1) [countable] a piece of equipment in a vehicle that you press with your foot when you change gear2) [singular] a firm hold that you have on someone or something, usually because you are afraid or in pain, or do not want to lose them3) [countable] a set of eggs that a chicken produces at one time, or the chickens that come from those eggs4) clutches[plural] power or control that someone has over you that you want to escape fromThey fled the country to escape the clutches of the secret police.
5) [countable] a small group of people or thingsThis is the best of the recent clutch of political biographies.
English dictionary. 2014.