Disclosed is a chuck comprising a base (10) in which a plurality of radially continuous, longitudinal slots (41) are provided for an individual clamping jaw (11, 21), respectively. The clamping jaws (11, 21) encompass one respective stopping surface (34) and can be displaced radially relative to the base (10) when a slanted clamping jaw surface (34) and a complementary surface (4) are moved towards each other such that a surface (14) of each clamping jaw (11, 21) clamps a workpiece that is to be retained around the longitudinal axis (20) of the base (10). Each clamping jaw (11, 21) is provided with a stop area (33 or 29) that extends on a plane running perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (20) of the base (10). Said stop area is impinged upon by a certain force in a longitudinal direction (20) during clamping by establishing a direct positive connection with a complementary area of an actuating element (3) or a positive connection with a complementary area of the base (10) which is positively connected to the actuating element (3). Force is thus relieved from the base, and the clamping jaws can be replaced individually. Non-round objects can be clamped in a simple way while objects can be clamped by engaging the same from behind.