The moment of truth where a player or situation gets evaluated specifically for clutch potential — can they deliver under maximum pressure?
The moment of truth where a player or situation gets evaluated specifically for clutch potential — can they deliver under maximum pressure? A clutch check can be a literal in-game scenario (one player left, five seconds on the clock) or a social assessment: does this person have what it takes when everything is on the line? Passing a clutch check earns instant credibility. Failing one becomes the story everyone tells afterward.
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Viral internet speak — memes, ratios, main-character moments, and the algospeak of every platform from Twitter to Reddit to TikTok comment sections.
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Performing exceptionally under pressure. Sports and gaming origin; now used broadly. "Clutch save" = critical late-game save.
Someone who consistently comes through in the most critical, high-pressure moments — the player your team wants holding the bomb with ten seconds left, the person who somehow always finds a way to deliver when it matters most. Clutchers aren't always the flashiest players in the lobby, but they have an almost supernatural ability to slow down time mentally when stakes are highest and convert the impossible into the inevitable. Every squad needs one.
The absolute upper limit of performing under pressure — when every element of a high-stakes moment aligns and someone delivers at the very top of their ability precisely when it matters most. Peak clutch isn't something you can plan for; it either emerges or it doesn't. It's the state athletes describe as 'the zone,' when time slows down and every decision is perfect. Rare, memorable, and impossible to fake — peak clutch moments are what sports fans and gamers replay forever.
That final round was a clutch check and he passed it with time to spare.
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Winning under extreme pressure — a 1v4 defuse, a last-stand comeback, a buzzer-beater. "Clutch" works as noun, verb, or compliment. "Clutched the 1v3 with a pistol" — highest-tier praise in competitive gaming, borrowed into sports and real life alike.