Clutch
adj.capable, resilientplayful
What it means
Successful or especially effective at a crucial, pressured moment.
Reach for it when praising a person, play, or contribution that succeeds when the result is at risk
Her clutch save preserved the lead in the final minute.
Choose between these
6- playful
pressure-proof
reliable performance under stress is the explicit praise
not when Pressure-proof overstates human consistency and sounds like advertising.
- everyday
help arrives at exactly the useful moment
not when Timely support may be ordinary rather than unusually effective under pressure.
- warm
game-saving
one act prevents a likely loss
not when Game-saving applies narrowly to competition and may exaggerate shared credit.
- professional
the action directly determines the outcome
not when Decisive can describe an early move with no pressure attached.
- professional
repeated reliability matters more than one dramatic moment
not when Dependable lacks the decisive timing that makes a performance clutch.
- formal
crucial
importance to the outcome is the central fact
not when A crucial contribution can fail; clutch usually says it succeeded.
Said against
3- untimely
- ineffective
- unreliable
It naturally appears in
3- clutch performance
Her clutch performance steadied the ensemble after the power flickered.
- clutch play
The defender made a clutch play with seconds remaining.
- clutch save
A clutch save kept the one-goal lead intact.
Where this comes from
Clutch is informal and strongly associated with sport, games, and performance under pressure.
- merriam-webster, adjective senses 1 and 2 opens in a new tab · retrieved 2026-07-26
The definition and the example on this page are written here. The dictionaries above ground which meaning is being described, not the wording.