clutch1

verb

• grasp (something) tightly:he stood clutching a microphone figurativeMrs Longhill clutched at the idea

noun

• 1a tight grasp:she made a clutch at his body
• (someone's clutches) a person’s power or control, especially when regarded as inescapable:Tom had fallen into Amanda’s clutches

• 2a mechanism for connecting and disconnecting an engine and the transmission system in a vehicle, or the working parts of any machine: she let the clutch in and the car surged forward
• the pedal operating the clutch in a vehicle.

• 3North American a clutch bag.