Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Clutch

Clutch (klŭch; 224), n. [OE. cloche, cloke, claw, Scot. clook, cleuck, also OE. cleche claw, clechen, cleken, to seize; cf. AS. gelæccan (where ge- is a prefix) to seize. Cf. Latch a catch.] 1. A gripe or clinching with, or as with, the fingers or claws; seizure; grasp. "The clutch of poverty." Cowper.

An expiring clutch at popularity. Carlyle.

But Age, with his stealing steps, Hath clawed me in his clutch. Shak.

2. pl. The hands, claws, or talons, in the act of grasping firmly; — often figuratively, for power, rapacity, or cruelty; as, to fall into the clutches of an adversary.

I must have . . . little care of myself, if I ever more come near the clutches of such a giant. Bp. Stillingfleet.

3. (Mach.) A device which is used for coupling shafting, etc., so as to transmit motion, and which may be disengaged at pleasure.

4. Any device for gripping an object, as at the end of a chain or tackle.

5. (Zoöl.) The nest complement of eggs of a bird.

Bayonet clutch (Mach.), a clutch in which connection is made by means of bayonets attached to arms sliding on a feathered shaft. The bayonets slide through holes in a crosshead fastened on the shaft.

Clutch, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Clutched; p. pr. & vb. n. Clutching.] [OE. clucchen. See Clutch, n.] 1. To seize, clasp, or gripe with the hand, hands, or claws; — often figuratively; as, to clutch power.

A man may set the poles together in his head, and clutch the whole globe at one intellectual grasp. Collier.

Is this a dagger which I see before me . . . ? Come, let me clutch thee. Shak.

2. To close tightly; to clinch.

Not that I have the power to clutch my hand. Shak.

Clutch, v. i. To reach (at something) as if to grasp; to catch or snatch; — often followed by at.

Clutching at the phantoms of the stock market. Bankroft.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty. Of the others, 1,362 (a word or a single letter each) were inferred by AI from the context by the dictionary’s own rules and are marked with a wavy underline (tap or point at one to see the note); the rest, which could not be inferred with confidence, are left as “?”.