with obj.
- grasp or seize (something) tightly or eagerly抓住, 攫住, 紧握, 紧抓：
he stood clutching a microphone
他紧握话筒站着
no obj. figurative 〈喻〉Mrs Longhill clutched at the idea.朗希尔太太抱定这个想法不放。
1
- a tight grasp or an act of grasping something紧抓; 抓住：
she made a clutch at his body.
她伸手抓住他的身体。
1.1
someone's clutches
a person's power or control, especially when perceived as cruel or inescapable（尤指某人残酷或无法逃脱的）掌握, 控制, 魔爪, 毒手：he had narrowly escaped the clutches of the Nazis.
他侥幸逃脱了纳粹的魔爪。
2
- a mechanism for connecting and disconnecting a vehicle engine and its transmission system（车辆的）离合器。
2.1
- the pedal operating such a mechanism离合器踏板。
2.2
- an arrangement for connecting and disconnecting the working parts of any machine（机械的）离合装置。
3
- N. Amer. a clutch bag〈北美〉女式无带手提包。
短语
clutch at straws
- 见STRAW.
词源
Middle English （in the sense 'bend, crook'）： variant of obsolete clitch 'close the hand', from Old English clyccan 'crook, clench', of Germanic origin.
1
- a group of eggs fertilized at the same time, typically laid in a single session and (in birds) incubated together同时受精的一组卵（尤指一次下的蛋或鸟一次孵的卵）。
1.1
- a brood of chicks一窝小鸡。
1.2
- a small group of people or things一小群, 一小组（人或物）：
a clutch of brightly painted holiday homes.
几幢涂漆鲜艳的度假屋。
词源
early 18th cent.: probably a southern variant of northern English dialect cletch, related to Middle English cleck 'to hatch', from Old Norse klekja.