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torch
1[ tawrch ]
noun
- a light to be carried in the hand, consisting of some combustible substance, as resinous wood, or of twisted flax or the like soaked with tallow or other flammable substance, ignited at the upper end.
- something considered as a source of illumination, enlightenment, guidance, etc.:
the torch of learning.
- any of various lamplike devices that produce a hot flame and are used for soldering, burning off paint, etc.
- Slang. an arsonist.
- Chiefly British. flashlight ( def 1 ).
verb (used without object)
- to burn or flare up like a torch.
verb (used with object)
- to subject to the flame or light of a torch, as in order to burn, sear, solder, or illuminate.
- Slang. to set fire to maliciously, especially in order to collect insurance.
torch
2[ tawrch ]
verb (used with object)
- Masonry. to point (the joints between roofing slates) with a mixture of lime and hair.
torch
/ ɔːʃ /
noun
- a small portable electric lamp powered by one or more dry batteries US and Canadian wordflashlight
- a wooden or tow shaft dipped in wax or tallow and set alight
- anything regarded as a source of enlightenment, guidance, etc
the torch of evangelism
- any apparatus that burns with a hot flame for welding, brazing, or soldering
- carry a torch forto be in love with, esp unrequitedly
- put to the torchto set fire to; burn down
the looted monastery was put to the torch
verb
- slang.tr to set fire to, esp deliberately as an act of arson
Derived Forms
- ˈٴǰˌ, adjective
Other Word Forms
- ٴǰa· adjective
- ٴǰl adjective
- ٴǰl adjective
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of torch1
Idioms and Phrases
- carry the / a torch for, Slang. to be in love with, especially to suffer from unrequited love for:
He still carries a torch for his ex-wife.
More idioms and phrases containing torch
see carry a torch ; pass the torch .Example Sentences
Earlier this month conservationists warned that some of the UK's rarest wildlife is being "torched alive" and pushed closer to extinction after weeks of intense grass fires.
The torched properties in his Altadena town were a reminder of how the fire that devastated his community is connecting to his work.
Stratton beat Flair to defend her title in what felt like a proverbial handing of the torch from one of the WWE's most decorated champions to the new blood midway through her first title reign.
"Wear suitable clothes, bring food, drink, a torch with a spare battery, a map, a compass - and also make sure you know how to use them," he said.
Some of the UK's rarest wildlife is being "torched alive" and pushed closer to extinction after weeks of intense grass fires, conservationists have warned.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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