english
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general::
Phrase(s): clutch (up)
to become very tense and anxious; to freeze with anxiety. • I have been known to clutch before a big game. • Just relax, play your game, and you won’t clutch!, Phrase(s): clutch someone or something to something
to grasp and hold someone or something to something. • She clutched the baby to her bosom. • Lee clutched the ice pack to his head.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
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verb ADV. firmly, tightly | desperately PREP. at He felt himself slipping and clutched at a branch. PHRASES clutch sth in your hand She clutched her handbag tightly in one hand. | clutch sth to your chest She clutched the letter to her chest., noun sb/sth's clutches sb/sth's power/control VERB + CLUTCH fall into She fell into the clutches of the rebel forces. | escape (from) PREP. in sb's ~ They had him in their clutches. | out of sb's ~ Once she was out of their clutches, she fled across the border. in a car VERB + CLUTCH drop, engage, put your foot on | disengage, let in/out, release, take your foot off Put it into first gear and let the clutch out slowly. | ride (= to keep in a state between full engagement and disengagement) The driver at the traffic lights was riding his clutch. CLUTCH + VERB engage | disengage | slip CLUTCH + NOUN pedal
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
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see GRASP (CLUTCH) AT STRAWS.
American Heritage Idioms
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clutch at sth
to try very hard to hold something
• Feeling herself fall, she clutched at a branch.
Cambridge-Phrasal Verbs
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verb
clenched:
She clutched her books to her body.
Simple Definitions