clutch

Etymology 1

From Middle English clucchen, clicchen, cluchen, clechen, cleken, from Old English clyċċan (“to clutch, clench”), from Proto-Germanic *klukjaną, from Proto-Germanic *klu- (“to ball up, conglomerate, amass”), from Proto-Indo-European *glew- (“to ball up; lump, mass”). Cognate with Swedish klyka (“clamp, fork, branch”). The noun is from Middle English cleche, cloche, cloke ("claw, talon, hand"; compare Scots cleuk, cluke, cluik (“claw, talon”)), of uncertain origin, with the form probably assimilated to the verb. Alternative etymology derives Old English clyċċan from Proto-Germanic *klēk- (“claw, hand”), from Proto-Indo-European *glēk-, *ǵlēḱ- (“claw, hand; to clutch, snatch”). If so, then cognate with Irish glac (“hand”).

verb

1. To seize, as though with claws.
   to clutch power
   A man may set the poles together in his head, and clutch the whole globe at one intellectual grasp. a. 1700, Jeremy Collier, A Thought
2. To grip or grasp tightly.
   She clutched her purse tightly and walked nervously into the building.
3. (video games) To win in a 1vX (one versus X) situation.
   For quotations using this term, see Citations:clutch.
4. (video games, by extension) To unexpectedly or luckily succeed in a difficult activity.

noun

1. The claw of a predatory animal or bird.
2. (by extension) A grip, especially one seen as rapacious or evil.
3. A device to interrupt power transmission, commonly used to separate the engine and gearbox in a car.
4. The pedal in a car that disengages power and torque transmission from the engine (through the drivetrain) to the drive wheels.
5. Any device for gripping an object, as at the end of a chain or tackle.
6. A fastener that attaches to the back of a tack pin to secure an accessory to clothing. (See Clutch (pin fastener).)
7. A small handbag or purse with no straps or handle.

Etymology 2

Variant form of cletch, from Middle English cleken (“to hatch”), perhaps from Old Norse klekja (“to hatch”).

noun

1. A brood of chickens or a sitting of eggs.
   For instance, baby chicks influence their mother’s behaviour by giving high piercing cheeps when they are lost or cold. This usually has the immediate effect of summoning the mother, who leads the chick back to the main clutch. 1976, Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene, Kindle edition, OUP Oxford, published 2016, page 82
2. A group or bunch (of people or things).
   No longer would Britons routinely blame the national government when things went wrong. Instead they would demand action from a new clutch of elected mayors, police commissioners and the like. 22 September 2012, “Innovation in Government: Britain's Local Labs”, in The Economist
   And, so, although the Zeros knocked out four dive bombers (two of them permanently and two forced to abort), the other eleven made it to a position above Shōkaku, which pulled a neat evasive turn that sent the first clutch of thousand-pound bombs into the sea. 3 February 2021, Drachinifel, 15:30 from the start, in Guadalcanal Campaign - Santa Cruz (IJN 2 : 2 USN), archived from the original on 2022-12-04

verb

1. (transitive) To hatch.

Etymology 3

Unknown; possibly analagous to clinch, pinch, which have similar senses.

noun

1. (US) An important or critical situation.
   to come in clutch
   And when it came to the clutch, Johnny Mize, who was washed up five years ago, would crack out a pinch double, or Mickey Mantle, who is not yet ready for the big leagues, would slam out a home run. October 8, 1951, “Baseball: A Great Year”, in LIFE, page 48
   He is the player who has come through so often in the clutch during his days at Camarillo. June 1, 1985, Johannes Telesaar, “Camarillo Loses in the 4-A Final by a Foot at First”, in Los Angeles Times
   Stempel came through in the clutch again. GM's across-the-board launch of the catalytic converter was a coup that left Ford and Chrysler gaspind in the dust. May 14, 2013, Paul Ingrassia, Joseph B. White, Comeback: The Fall & Rise of the American Automobile Industry, Simon and Schuster
   But not just strong women: women who don’t turn to a man in the clutch; women whose strength is inseparable from the walls they’ve built around themselves. 2016-05-01, Frank Bruni, “Jodie Foster Is Still Afraid of Failure”, in The New York Times
2. A difficult maneuver.

adj

1. (US, Canada) Performing or tending to perform well in difficult, high-pressure situations.
   NC State made the most of their overtime possession scoring a touchdown on some very clutch plays. 2006, Bryan Hogan, Three Days for Goodbye, page 19
   I start with his most obvious characteristic: he was clutch. He is Mr. Clutch. In the last chapter I mentioned that Bernie Williams was clutch, which was a valid assessment, but nobody on the Yankees was as clutch as Jeter was. 2009, Scott Trocchia, The 2006 Yankees: The Frustration of a Nation, A Fan's Perspective, page 21
   It doesn't get more clutch than that! 2009, Mark Stewart, Clutch Performers, page 34