CLUTCHES
clasp, clench, clutch, clutches, grasp, grip, hold
(noun) the act of grasping; “he released his clasp on my arm”; “he has a strong grip for an old man”; “she kept a firm hold on the railing”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Noun
clutches
plural of clutch
(usually, in the plural) Grasp; possession; control.
• Once the organization was in his clutches, her future there was bleak.
Verb
clutches
Third-person singular simple present indicative form of clutch
Anagrams
• cultches
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