CLUTCHED

Verb

clutched

simple past tense and past participle of clutch

Anagrams

• declutch

Source: Wiktionary


CLUTCH

Clutch (kluch; 224), n. Etym: [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.

Definition: 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.)

Definition: 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.)

Definition: 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.] Etym: [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.

Definition: 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.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

2 July 2025

RESTITUTION

(noun) getting something back again; “upon the restitution of the book to its rightful owner the child was given a tongue lashing”


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Coffee Trivia

The first coffee-house in Mecca dates back to the 1510s. The beverage was in Turkey by the 1530s. It appeared in Europe circa 1515-1519 and was introduced to England by 1650. By 1675 the country had more than 3,000 coffee houses, and coffee had replaced beer as a breakfast drink.

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