Clutch
[klʌtʃ]
Definition
(noun.) a coupling that connects or disconnects driving and driven parts of a driving mechanism; 'this year's model has an improved clutch'.
(noun.) a pedal or lever that engages or disengages a rotating shaft and a driving mechanism; 'he smoothely released the clutch with one foot and stepped on the gas with the other'.
(noun.) a number of birds hatched at the same time.
(noun.) a tense critical situation; 'he is a good man in the clutch'.
Typed by Chloe--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) A gripe or clinching with, or as with, the fingers or claws; seizure; grasp.
(n.) 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.
(n.) A device which is used for coupling shafting, etc., so as to transmit motion, and which may be disengaged at pleasure.
(n.) Any device for gripping an object, as at the end of a chain or tackle.
(n.) The nest complement of eggs of a bird.
(n.) To seize, clasp, or gripe with the hand, hands, or claws; -- often figuratively; as, to clutch power.
(n.) To close tightly; to clinch.
(v. i.) To reach (at something) as if to grasp; to catch or snatch; -- often followed by at.
Inputed by Cole
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. a. Grasp, gripe, grapple, seize, catch, snatch, lay hold of, fasten upon.
n. Grasp, gripe, seizure.
Checked by Casey
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Grasp, grab, seize, catch, grip, grapple_with, snatch, pounce
ANT:Liberate, release, emancipate
Inputed by Joanna
Definition
n. (prov.) a brood of chickens a 'sitting' of eggs.—v.t. to hatch.
v.t. to close the hand: to carry off: to hold firmly: to seize or grasp.—n. a grasp; seizure.—n.pl. Clutch′es the hands or paws: cruelty: rapacity.
Checked by Eli
Examples
- The Count made a clutch at his pistol, and muttered an execration, but, thinking better of it, recovered his temper, and burst out laughing. Fergus Hume. The Island of Fantasy.
- What should I do--how should I act now, this very day, if I could clutch my own pain, and compel it to silence, and think of those three? George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- I have got into the clutch of an eagle with iron talons. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- As he said this, he released me from his clutch, and only looked at me. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- In each hand he seemed as if he would have liked to clutch one and gripe her to death. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- He that is in the lion's clutch, answered Fitzurse, knows it were needless. Walter Scott. Ivanhoe.
- Overpowered with watching and exertion, I had closed my eyes for a few minutes, when I felt a violent clutch on my shoulder. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- You seem to be clutching at the void--and at the same time you are void yourself. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- Well, sir,' observed Venus, after clutching at his dusty hair, to brighten his ideas, 'let us put it another way. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- But it seemed to him, woman was always so horrible and clutching, she had such a lust for possession, a greed of self-importance in love. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- That about-- _Nancy_,' said Fagin, clutching Sikes by the wrist, as if to prevent his leaving the house before he had heard enough. Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- Oh, don't leave me--don't leave me, Goodwin,' murmured Mrs. Pott, clutching at the wrist of the said Goodwin with an hysteric jerk. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- So little Tarzan wriggled out from beneath the struggling mass, clutching his grisly prize close to his breast. Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
- But I am more than a lad,' said Bradley, with his clutching hand, 'and I WILL be heard, sir. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- I clutched the leg of the table again immediately, and pressed it to my bosom as if it had been the companion of my youth and friend of my soul. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- She shut her eyes as it passed, and clutched at Archer's hand. Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence.
- I still held on to the leg of the table, but clutched it now with the fervor of gratitude. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- You then-- Ryder threw himself down suddenly upon the rug and clutched at my companion's knees. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- One piercing scream escaped her lips as the brute hand clutched her arm. Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
- Her hands clutched his limbs, his muscles, going over him spasmodically. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- He clutched her hand to detain her. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- Dejah Thoris in the clutches of the First Born! Edgar Rice Burroughs. The Gods of Mars.
- Safety clutches are numerous, by which the machine is quickly and automatically stopped by the action of electro-magnets should a workman or other obstruction be caught in the machinery. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- Be the First Born gods or mortals, they are a powerful race, and we are as fast in their clutches as though we were already dead. Edgar Rice Burroughs. The Gods of Mars.
- An arm of the main conflagration had shot out a half mile south of its parent to embrace this tiny strip of road in its implacable clutches. Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
- Once out of her clutches and she cannot harm you. Edgar Rice Burroughs. The Gods of Mars.
- Behind us we left the stricken city in the fierce and brutal clutches of some forty thousand green warriors of the lesser hordes. Edgar Rice Burroughs. A Princess of Mars.
- Clutches (called striking boxes) on the axle of the front gear wheel allowed either running wheel to move independently of the other in turning. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
Checked by Lionel