Webster's English Dictionary

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clutch

Cross references:
  1. take                  
 
1. clutch \'kl*ch\ vb [ME clucchen, fr. OE clyccan; akin to MIr glacc hand 
   - more] at CLING 1: to grasp or hold with or as if with the hand or claws 
   usu. strongly, ti ghtly, or suddenly obs  2: CLENCH  : to seek to grasp and 
   hold 
2. clutch n 1a: the claws or a hand in the act of grasping or seizing 
   firmly  1b: CONTROL, POWER  1c: the act of grasping, holding, or 
   restraining  2: a device for gripping an object (as at the end of a chain 
   or tackle)  3a: a coupling used to connect and disconnect a driving and a 
   driven part o f a mechanism 3b: a lever operating such a clutch  4: a tight 
   or critical situation : PINCH 
3. clutch n [alter. of dial. E cletch (hatching, brood)] : a nest of eggs 
   or a brood of chicks