clutch definition

1. a tense critical situation
• examples: he is a good man in the clutch
2. a number of birds hatched at the same time
3. a woman's strapless purse that is carried in the hand
4. a pedal or lever that engages or disengages a rotating shaft and a driving mechanism
• examples: he smoothely released the clutch with one foot and stepped on the gas with the other
5. a coupling that connects or disconnects driving and driven parts of a driving mechanism
• examples: this year's model has an improved clutch