- [countable] the pedal in a car or other vehicle that you press with your foot so that you can change gear
- Put your foot on the clutch.
Collocations DrivingDrivingHaving a carTopics Transport by car or lorryc2- have/own/(British English) run a car
- ride a motorcycle/motorbike
- drive/prefer/use an automatic/a manual/(North American English, informal) a stick shift
- have/get your car serviced/fixed/repaired
- buy/sell a used car/(especially British English) a second-hand car
- take/pass/fail a (British English) driving test/(both North American English) driver’s test/road test
- get/obtain/have/lose/carry a/your (British English) driving licence/(North American English) driver’s license
- put on/fasten/(North American English) buckle/wear/undo your seat belt/safety belt
- put/turn/leave the key in the ignition
- start the car/engine
- (British English) change/(North American English) shift/put something into gear
- press/put your foot on the brake pedal/clutch/accelerator
- release the clutch/(especially British English) the handbrake/(both North American English) the emergency brake/the parking brake
- drive/park/reverse the car
- (British English) indicate left/right
- (especially North American English) signal that you are turning left/right
- take/miss (British English) the turning/(especially North American English) the turn
- apply/hit/slam on the brake(s)
- beep/honk/(especially British English) toot/(British English) sound your horn
- a car skids/crashes (into something)/collides (with something)
- swerve to avoid an oncoming car/a pedestrian
- crash/lose control of the car
- have/be in/be killed in/survive a car crash/a car accident/(North American English) a car wreck/a hit-and-run
- be run over/knocked down by a car/bus/truck
- dent/hit (British English) the bonnet/(North American English) the hood
- break/crack/shatter (British English) the windscreen/(North American English) the windshield
- blow/(especially British English) burst/puncture (British English) a tyre/(North American English) a tire
- get/have (British English) a flat tyre/a flat tire/a puncture
- inflate/change/fit/replace/check a tyre/tire
- be caught in/get stuck in/sit in a traffic jam
- cause congestion/tailbacks/traffic jams/gridlock
- experience/face lengthy delays
- beat/avoid the traffic/the rush hour
- break/observe/(North American English) drive the speed limit
- be caught on (British English) a speed camera
- stop somebody for/pull somebody over for/(British English, informal) be done for speeding
- (both informal) run/(British English) jump a red light/the lights
- be arrested for/charged with (British English) drink-driving/(both US English) driving under the influence (DUI)/driving while intoxicated (DWI)
- be banned/(British English) disqualified from driving
Extra Examples- Put it into first gear and let the clutch out slowly.
- The driver at the traffic lights was riding his clutch (= driving with the clutch down).
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverb + clutch- drop
- engage
- put your foot on
- …
- engage
- disengage
- slip
- …
- pedal
- [countable] a device in a machine that connects and disconnects working parts, especially the engine and the gears
- The car needs a new clutch.
- a clutch of something [singular] a group of people, animals or things
- He's won a whole clutch of awards.
- clutches[plural] (informal) power or control
- He managed to escape from their clutches.
- in your clutches Now that she had him in her clutches, she wasn't going to let go.
Extra Examples- She fell into the clutches of the rebel forces.
- They had him in their clutches.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverb + clutches- fall into
- escape
- escape from
- …
- in somebody’s clutch
- out of somebody’s clutch
- [countable, usually singular] a tight hold on somebody/something synonym grip (figurative)
- She felt the sudden clutch of fear.
- [countable] a group of eggs that a bird lays at one time; the young birds that come out of a group of eggs at the same time
- The female lays a clutch of about seven eggs, laying one egg each day.
- [countable] (also clutch bag)a small, flat bag that women carry in their hands, especially on formal occasions
Word Originnoun senses 1 to 2 and noun senses 4 to 5 noun sense 7 Middle English (in the sense ‘bend, crook’): variant of obsolete clitch ‘close the hand’, from Old English clyccan ‘crook, clench’, of Germanic origin. noun sense 3 and noun sense 6 early 18th cent.: probably a southern variant of northern English dialect cletch, related to Middle English cleck ‘to hatch’, from Old Norse klekja.
Idioms
See clutch in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionaryin the clutch (North American English, informal)
- at a critical moment
- Why are some athletes able to perform in the clutch while others fail?
- Bryan came through in the clutch when it was needed.
Check pronunciation:
clutch