torch

[ tawrch ]

/ tɔrtʃ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR torch ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

Nearby words

torana, torbanite, torbay, torbernite, torc, torch, torch lily, torch singer, torch song, torch syndrome, torchbearer

Idioms

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.

Origin of torch

1250–1300; Middle English torche (noun) < Old French < Vulgar Latin *torca something twisted. See torque

Related formstorch·a·ble, adjectivetorch·less, adjectivetorch·like, adjective

Definition for torch (2 of 2)

torch

[ tawrch ]

/ tɔrtʃ /

verb (used with object)

to point (the joints between roofing slates) with a mixture of lime and hair.

Origin of torch

1840–50; < French torcher to plaster with a mixture of clay and chopped straw, derivative of torche a twist of straw. See torch¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for torch

Thankfully, my father took up the torch and left no doubt that we were looked after.
Why I Choose to Be Child-Free: Readers Share Their Stories|Harry Siegel|February 27, 2013|DAILY BEAST
It feels like someone is chopping up my legs with a machete or burning them with a torch from the inside out.
New Jersey Patients in Pain Over Scarcity of Medical Marijuana|Abby Haglage|February 7, 2013|DAILY BEAST
After an image-invigorating tenure as U.S. secretary of state, Hillary Clinton will pass the torch to Sen. John Kerry on Friday.
Week in Review: Cheat Sheet to the Week’s Big News (VIDEO)|Kevin Fallon|February 1, 2013|DAILY BEAST
China carried the torch: Under Mao Tse-tung, “the Chinese people were doing well.”
There Are Still Communists?|Justin Green|October 18, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Clarence House today released a video of Prince Harry speaking about the start of the Paralympics torch relay.
Yay! Harry Keeps Clothes On In New Paralympics Video Message!!|Tom Sykes|August 24, 2012|DAILY BEAST
I have seen the flames increase when agitated by waving the torch; and when no one shook it, I have seen them die away.
The Amores, or Amours|Ovid
And with his torch he burned stripes down the arms and legs of the shrinking Chulavete.
Unknown Mexico, Volume 1 (of 2)|Carl Lumholtz
Just at this moment Harriet struck the bear's hip with the torch.
The Meadow-Brook Girls Under Canvas|Janet Aldridge
Beside Sophia, a hulking figure carried a torch to light their way.
The Saracen: The Holy War|Robert Shea
In the meantime, Stayford took a torch and went in to arouse the boys.
The Cave by the Beech Fork|Henry S. Spalding

British Dictionary definitions for torch

torch

/ (tɔːtʃ) /

noun

a small portable electric lamp powered by one or more dry batteriesUS and Canadian word: flashlight

a wooden or tow shaft dipped in wax or tallow and set alight

anything regarded as a source of enlightenment, guidance, etcthe torch of evangelism

any apparatus that burns with a hot flame for welding, brazing, or soldering

carry a torch for to be in love with, esp unrequitedly

put to the torch to set fire to; burn downthe looted monastery was put to the torch

verb

(tr) slang to set fire to, esp deliberately as an act of arson

Derived Formstorchlike, adjective

Word Origin for torch

C13: from Old French torche handful of twisted straw, from Vulgar Latin torca (unattested), from Latin torquēre to twist

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for torch (1 of 2)

torch

late 13c., from Old French torche, originally "twisted thing," hence "torch formed of twisted tow dipped in wax," probably from Vulgar Latin *torca, alteration of Late Latin torqua, variant of classical Latin torques "collar of twisted metal," from torquere "to twist" (see thwart). In Britain, also applied to the battery-driven version (in U.S., flashlight). Torch song is 1927 ("My Melancholy Baby," performed by Tommy Lyman, is said to have been the first so called), from carry a torch "suffer an unrequited love" (also 1927), an obscure notion from Broadway slang.

torch

noun

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

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Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of torch

Definition for torch (2 of 2)

torch

verb (used with object)

Origin of torch

Examples from the Web for torch

British Dictionary definitions for torch

torch

noun

verb

Word Origin for torch

Word Origin and History for torch (1 of 2)

torch

Word Origin and History for torch (1 of 2)

torch

Idioms and Phrases with torch

torch