Brood that might be disengaged (6)
I believe the answer is:
clutch
'brood' is the definition.
(clutch is a kind of brood)
I don't understand how the rest of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for clutch that I've seen before include "Grab - set of eggs" , "Brood of chicks" , "Grasp - eggs - car pedal" , "Tightly hold" , "Seize - egg collection" .)