posted November 15, 2002 02:05 AM
dictionary.com CLUTCH clutch1 ( P ) Pronunciation Key (klch)
v. clutched, clutch·ing, clutch·es
v. tr.
To grasp and hold tightly.
To seize; snatch.
v. intr.
To attempt to grasp or seize: clutch at a life raft.
To engage or disengage a motor vehicle's clutch.
To fail in a critical situation, especially out of nervousness or fear.
n.
A hand, claw, talon, or paw in the act of grasping.
A tight grasp.
Control or power. Often used in the plural: caught in the clutches of sin.
A device for gripping and holding.
Any of various devices for engaging and disengaging two working parts of a shaft or of a shaft and a driving mechanism.
The apparatus, such as a lever or pedal, that activates one of these devices.
A tense, critical situation: came through in the clutch.
A clutch bag.
adj. Informal
Being or occurring in a tense or critical situation: won the championship by sinking a clutch putt.
Tending to be successful in tense or critical situations: The coach relied on her clutch pitcher.
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[Middle English clucchen, from Old English clyccan.]
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posted November 15, 2002 02:05 AM
