ride the clutch
ride the clutch verb: to slip the clutch (of a manual transmission) excessively, such that its working life will be shortened; especially, to keep one's foot or hand on the clutch pedal or lever even when no slipping of the clutch is needed.
Verb
ride the clutch (third-person singular simple present rides the clutch, present participle riding the clutch, simple past rode the clutch, past participle ridden the clutch)
- To slip the clutch (of a manual transmission) excessively, such that its working life will be shortened; especially, to keep one's foot or hand on the clutch pedal or lever even when no slipping of the clutch is needed.
- In Sydney you'd better be riding the clutch and completely in sync with the traffic lights so that your car is already moving as they turn green.2005, Paul Carter, Don't Tell Mum I Work on the Rigs, Crows Nest: Allen and Unwin, page 65
Forms of ride the clutch
| third-person singular present | rides the clutch |
|---|---|
| present participle | riding the clutch |
| past | rode the clutch |
| past participle | ridden the clutch |
Questions about ride the clutch
- What does ride the clutch mean?
- Ride the clutch means to slip the clutch (of a manual transmission) excessively, such that its working life will be shortened; especially, to keep one's foot or hand on the clutch pedal or lever even when no slipping of the clutch is needed.
- What part of speech is ride the clutch?
- Ride the clutch is a verb.
- What is the past tense of ride the clutch?
- The past tense of ride the clutch is rode the clutch.
Words near ride the clutch in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: ride the clutch (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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