Home › Agriculture & Farming › Poultry Farming & Eggs › clutch

clutch

kluhch /klʌtʃ/

nounverbB2SATGRE

generalscientific

A collective group of eggs laid by a bird at one time, or the act of grasping something tightly.

In poultry and biology, it refers specifically to the complete set of eggs produced in a single nesting cycle before incubation begins.

The story behind the word. The biological term 'clutch' comes from the Middle English word 'cloke', which meant 'to cluck' (describing a broody hen). Over time, it was influenced by the unrelated verb 'clutch' (to grasp or hold tightly), leading to the modern noun meaning a gathered group of eggs.

Word relationships

nest: A nest is the physical structure built to hold the eggs, while a clutch is the actual group of eggs inside it.
batch: Batch is a general term for a group of items produced at once, whereas clutch is biologically specific to eggs.

Commonly confused with

brood: A clutch refers to the eggs before they hatch, while a brood refers to the group of young chicks after they have hatched.

Word family

clutched (verb): Grasped tightly.

Collocations

clutch of eggs
complete clutch
lay a clutch
clutch size

Example sentences

"The mother duck carefully concealed her clutch of ten eggs beneath a canopy of reeds." Wildlife documentary narration.
"A hen will typically lay one egg a day until her clutch is complete, at which point she will begin to sit on them." Poultry breeding guide.

Memory hook

A hen wants to 'clutch' (hold tightly) her entire 'clutch' (group of eggs) under her warm feathers. Clutch: a gathered handful of eggs.

When not to use

Do not use to describe a random collection of eggs from different nests or different days that are not meant to be hatched together.

Fun facts

If you remove eggs daily from a hen's nest, she will keep laying in an attempt to complete her clutch, which is how humans encourage continuous egg production.