clutch

/ˈkləch/

Middle English clucchen, from Old English clyccan

verb

  1. to grasp or hold with or as if with the hand or claws usually strongly, tightly, or suddenly

  2. clench

  3. to seek to grasp and hold

He clutched his chest and appeared to be in pain.

take seize grasp clutch snatch grab mean to get hold of by or as if by catching up with the hand. take is a general term applicable to any manner of getting something into one's possession or control. seize implies a sudden and forcible movement in getting hold of something tangible or an apprehending of something fleeting or elusive when intangible.

noun

  1. the claws or a hand in the act of grasping or seizing firmly

  2. an often cruel or unrelenting control, power, or possession

  3. the act of grasping, holding, or restraining

a rabbit in the clutch of a hawk

the fell clutch of circumstance

adjective

  1. made or done in a crucial situation

  2. successful in a crucial situation

a clutch hit