Clutch, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Clutched; p. pr. & vb. n. Clutching.]
Etymology: [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.
2 other Webster entries under this spelling
Clutch (kluch; 224), n.
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.
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.)
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.)
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. i.
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.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for clutch; he lists it under catch.
Where he writes about it:
We clutch with a swift, tenacious movement of the fingers; we grasp with a firm but moderate closure of the whole hand; we grip or gripe with the strongest muscular closure of the whole hand possible to exert. — from catch