torchbearer
Americannoun
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a person who carries a torch.
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a leader in a movement, campaign, etc..
a torchbearer of democracy.
noun
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a person or thing that carries a torch
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a person who leads or inspires
Etymology
Origin of torchbearer
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Thousands of people waiting in a rainy Piazza del Duomo cheered as torchbearer Nicoletta Manni, an Italian ballerina, carried it into the square, over an hour behind schedule.
From Barron's • Feb. 5, 2026
There has been some immediate discontent from Scottish Labour figures over this news – that after years being their sole torchbearer at Westminster, Murray has lasted barely a year as Scottish secretary.
From BBC • Sep. 5, 2025
In this vision, an Olympic torchbearer makes their way into a studio building — could be a lot, could be CAA or somewhere corporate.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 11, 2024
By the time of Cherry’s death in 1995, he was considered a torchbearer for avant-garde jazz.
From New York Times • Mar. 6, 2024
The torchbearer who had followed Niran came forward; she was a woman, her black hair hanging in a long braid over her shoulder.
From "Huntress" by Malinda Lo
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.
