touch off

verb

1. to cause to explode, as by touching with a match

2. to cause (a disturbance, violence, etc) to begin

   the marchers' action touched off riots

Idioms and Phrases

Cause to explode or fire; also, initiate, trigger. For example, The boys touched off a whole line of firecrackers , or These disclosures will touch off a public uproar . This idiom comes from early firearms, which were set off by putting a light to the touch-hole. Its figurative use dates from the late 1800s.

Depict very precisely, as in He touched off Teddy Roosevelt as well as it's ever been done . [Mid-1700s]

Example Sentences

The high lasted just a few hours — and touched off an extraordinary 14 days of rapid-fire accusations, investigative findings and a massive federal freeze of UCLA’s research funding.

From Los Angeles Times

“I just think my mechanics were a touch off there those first couple innings,” Wrobleski said.

From Los Angeles Times

When the big rig departed the San Mateo County Event Center that night, it touched off a complex choreography that culminated at an Interstate 5 truck stop about 70 miles north of Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles Times

Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE that touched off a week of chaotic, sporadically violent protests in parts of downtown.

From Los Angeles Times

Fontana police shot and killed a man they said brandished a gun at officers responding to a 911 call early Sunday morning, touching off an investigation.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• agitate 
• amaze 
• anger 
• animate 
• annoy 
• astound 
• bother 
• delight 
• disturb 
• energize 
• irritate 
• offend 
• thrill 
• turn on 
• vex 
• work up 
• worry