Definition of "clutch" []

• To grasp and hold tightly. (verb-transitive)
• To seize; snatch. (verb-transitive)
• To attempt to grasp or seize: clutch at a life raft. (verb-intransitive)
• To engage or disengage a motor vehicle's clutch. (verb-intransitive)
• A hand, claw, talon, or paw in the act of grasping. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "I shouldn't be surprised, I guess, since the car has 158,000 miles on it, and the clutch is the original one."
• "Jose Mesa stepping up in the clutch is a whole other matter."
• "Alex Rodriguez could be the game's best player now coming through in clutch situations."