touch

[ tuhch ]

/ tʌtʃ /

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See synonyms for: touch / touched / touches / touching on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to put the hand, finger, etc., on or into contact with (something) to feel it: He touched the iron cautiously.

to come into contact with and perceive (something), as the hand or the like does.

to bring (the hand, finger, etc., or something held) into contact with something: She touched a match to the papers.

to give a slight tap or pat to with the hand, finger, etc.; strike or hit gently or lightly.

to come into or be in contact with.

Geometry. (of a line or surface) to be tangent to.

to be adjacent to or border on.

to come up to; reach; attain.

to attain equality with; compare with (usually used with a negative): a style that cannot touch that of Shakespeare.

to mark by strokes of the brush, pencil, or the like.

to mark or relieve slightly, as with color: a gray dress touched with blue.

to stop at (a place), as a ship: The ship touched shore several times during the cruise.

to treat or affect in some way by contact.

to affect as if by contact; tinge; imbue.

to affect with some feeling or emotion, especially tenderness, pity, gratitude, etc.: Their sufferings touched his heart.

to handle, use, or have to do with in any way (usually used with a negative): She can't touch the money until she's 21.

to eat or drink; consume; taste (usually used with a negative): He won't touch another drink.

to lay hands on, often in a violent manner: Don't you touch this child!

to deal with or treat in speech or writing.

to refer or allude to.

to pertain or relate to: a critic in all matters touching the kitchen.

to be a matter of importance to; make a difference to; affect: This grave decision touches all of us.

Metallurgy. to stamp (metal) as being of standard purity.

Slang. to apply to for money, or succeed in getting money from: He touched me for five dollars.

Slang. to steal from.

Archaic.

to strike the strings, keys, etc., of (a musical instrument) so as to cause it to sound.
to play or perform (an air, notes, etc.) on a musical instrument.

verb (used without object)

to place the hand, finger, etc., on or in contact with something.

to come into or be in contact.

to make a stop or a short call at a place, as a ship or those on board (usually followed by at).

noun

the act or state of touching; state or fact of being touched.

that sense by which anything material is perceived by means of physical contact.

the quality of something touched that imparts a sensation: an object with a slimy touch.

a coming into or being in contact.

mental or moral perception, sensitivity, or understanding: He has a marvelous touch in dealing with people.

ability, skill, or dexterity; knack: to lose one's touch.

Fencing. the contact of the point of a foil or épée or the point or edge of the blade of a saber with a specified portion of the opponent's body, counting one point for the scorer.

close communication, agreement, sympathy, or the like: to be out of touch with reality; Let's keep in touch.

a slight stroke or blow.

a slight attack, as of illness or disease: a touch of rheumatism.

a slight added action or effort in doing or completing any piece of work: to provide the finishing touches.

a special detail or feature: The berries macerated in extra virgin olive oil were a nice touch that elevated the custard dessert plate.

manner of execution in artistic work.

the act or manner of touching or fingering a keyboard instrument.

the mode of action of the keys of an instrument, as of a piano or typewriter.

Change Ringing. a partial series of changes on a peal of bells.

a stroke or dash, as with a brush, pencil, or pen.

a slight amount of some quality, attribute, etc.: a touch of sarcasm in his voice.

a slight quantity or degree: a touch of salt.

a distinguishing characteristic or trait: the touch of the master.

quality or kind in general.

an act of testing something.

something that serves as a test; touchstone.

Slang.

the act of approaching someone for money as a gift or a loan.
the obtaining of money in this manner.
the money obtained.
a person considered from the standpoint of the relative ease with which he or she will lend money:I can always hit him for ten—he's an easy touch.

Slang. theft.

Metallurgy.

an official mark put upon precious metal after testing to indicate its purity.
a die, stamp, or the like for impressing such a mark.
an identifying mark impressed on pewter by its maker.

Soccer. the area outside the touchlines.

Rugby. either of the touchlines or the area outside of the touchlines.

Verb Phrases

touch down, (of an airplane) to come into contact with the ground; land.

touch off,

to represent or characterize precisely.
to cause to ignite or explode.
to give rise to; initiate: This incident will touch off another crisis.

touch on / upon

to mention a subject briefly or casually; treat of in passing: In his lecture he touched on the major aspects of the controversy.
to come close to; approach.
to relate or pertain to.

touch up,

to make minor changes or improvements in the appearance of.
to modify or improve (a painting, photograph, etc.) by adding small strokes or making slight changes.
to rouse by or as if by striking: This should touch up your memory.

OTHER WORDS FOR touch

1 handle, feel.

13 impress.

15 move, strike, stir, melt, soften.

21 concern, regard, affect.

38 pat, tap.

48 hint, trace, suggestion.

See synonyms for touch on Thesaurus.com

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Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms about touch

put the touch on, Informal. to try to borrow money from: Willie put the touch on me for another ten last night.

touch base. See entry at touch base.

Origin of touch

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English verb to(u)chen, from Old French tochier, from unattested Vulgar Latin toccāre “to knock, strike, touch,” of expressive origin; noun partly continuing Middle English touche “state or act of touching,” from Old French, derivative of tochier, and partly derivative of the Middle English verb

OTHER WORDS FROM touch

touch·a·ble, adjectivetouch·a·ble·ness, touch·a·bil·i·ty

[tuhch-uh-bil-i-tee], /ˌtʌtʃ əˈbɪl ɪ ti/, nountouch·er, nountouch·less, adjective

in·ter·touch, verb (used without object)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use touch in a sentence

Long-distance communication may benefit from a robot’s touch.
This artificial skin feels ‘ghosts’ — things you wish were there|Stephen Ornes|November 20, 2020|Science News For Students
They’re built with a touch interface in mind, which doesn’t always translate well to a mouse and keyboard.
Apple’s M1 chip makes the new MacBook Air shockingly good|Stan Horaczek|November 18, 2020|Popular-Science
Rather than just a pressure sensor, we need something that captures the myriad of touch sensations.
This Is How We’ll Engineer Artificial Touch|Shelly Fan|November 17, 2020|Singularity Hub
It’s equally delightful to sip, though, with notes of nougat and just a touch of bright acidity.
Now You Can Steep Your Coffee Like Tea—and It's Awesome|AC Shilton|November 11, 2020|Outside Online

We bought a few trays, to limit touch, so servers can carry plates on those instead of with their hands.
The True Cost of Keeping a Restaurant Open During a Pandemic|Charlotte Druckman|November 11, 2020|Eater
Joe is a toucher—and not in a creepy, hide-your-interns kind of way.
The Pros and Cons of Joe Biden Hitting the Campaign Trail|Michelle Cottle|March 8, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Cerf, Du toucher des écrouelles par le roi de France, in Trav.
The Life of Joan of Arc, Vol. 1 and 2 (of 2)|Anatole France
Safe enough—unless the wheel catches one—it was as near as a toucher just then—aren't you going to smoke?
The Travelling Companions|F. Anstey
It will show you pretty well how pipped I was when I tell you that I near as a toucher put on a white tie with a dinner-jacket.
My Man Jeeves|P. G. Wodehouse
A single unconscious touch and the toucher starts back with an amazed "What's this?"
The Debit Account|Oliver Onions
The "toucher" in this case usually admits frankly that he came to Chicago and got drunk, spending all his money.
Twenty Years a Detective in the Wickedest City in the World|Clifton R. Wooldridge

British Dictionary definitions for touch

touch

/ (tʌtʃ) /

noun

the sense by which the texture and other qualities of objects can be experienced when they come in contact with a part of the body surface, esp the tips of the fingersRelated adjectives: haptic, tactile, tactual

the quality of an object as perceived by this sense; feel; feeling

the act or an instance of something coming into contact with the body

a gentle push, tap, or caress

a small amount; hinta touch of sarcasm

a noticeable effect; influencethe house needed a woman's touch

any slight stroke or markwith a touch of his brush he captured the scene

characteristic manner or stylethe artist had a distinctive touch

a detail of some work, esp a literary or artistic workshe added a few finishing touches to the book

a slight attack, as of a diseasea touch of bronchitis

a specific ability or facilitythe champion appeared to have lost his touch

the state of being aware of a situation or in contact with someoneto get in touch with someone

the state of being in physical contact

a trial or test (esp in the phrase put to the touch)

rugby soccer the area outside the touchlines, beyond which the ball is out of play (esp in the phrase in touch)

archaic

an official stamp on metal indicating standard purity
the die stamp used to apply this markNow usually called: hallmark

a scoring hit in competitive fencing

an estimate of the amount of gold in an alloy as obtained by use of a touchstone

the technique of fingering a keyboard instrument

the quality of the action of a keyboard instrument with regard to the relative ease with which the keys may be depressedthis piano has a nice touch

bell-ringing any series of changes where the permutations are fewer in number than for a peal

slang

the act of asking for money as a loan or gift, often by devious means
the money received in this way
a person asked for money in this wayhe was an easy touch

verb

(tr) to cause or permit a part of the body to come into contact with

(tr) to tap, feel, or strike, esp with the handdon't touch the cake!

to come or cause (something) to come into contact with (something else)their hands touched briefly; he touched the match to the fuse

(intr) to be in contact

(tr; usually used with a negative) to take hold of (a person or thing), esp in violencedon't touch the baby!

to be adjacent to (each other)the two properties touch

(tr) to move or disturb by handlingsomeone's touched my desk

(tr) to have an effect onthe war scarcely touched our town

(tr) to produce an emotional response inhis sad story touched her

(tr) to affect; concern

(tr; usually used with a negative) to partake of, eat, or drink

(tr; usually used with a negative) to handle or deal withI wouldn't touch that business

(when intr, often foll by on) to allude (to) briefly or in passingthe speech touched on several subjects

(tr) to tinge or tint slightlybrown hair touched with gold

(tr) to spoil or injure slightlyblackfly touched the flowers

(tr) to mark, as with a brush or pen

(tr) to compare to in quality or attainment; equal or matchthere's no-one to touch him

(tr) to reach or attainhe touched the high point in his career

(intr) to dock or stop brieflythe ship touches at Tenerife

(tr) slang to ask for a loan or gift of money from

rare

to finger (the keys or strings of an instrument)
to play (a tune, piece of music, etc) in this way

touch base to make contactSee base 1 (def. 26)

Derived forms of touch

touchable, adjectivetouchableness, nountoucher, nountouchless, adjective

Word Origin for touch

C13: from Old French tochier, from Vulgar Latin toccāre (unattested) to strike, ring (a bell), probably imitative of a tapping sound

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with touch

touch

In addition to the idioms beginning with touch

touch and go
touch base with
touch bottom
touch down
touched by, be
touched in the head
touch off
touch on
touch up

also see:

common touch
finishing touch
hit (touch) bottom
in touch
lose one's touch
lose touch
not touch with a ten-foot pole
out of touch
put the arm (touch) on
soft touch

touch

OTHER WORDS FOR touch

Idioms about touch

Origin of touch

OTHER WORDS FROM touch

Words related to touch

How to use touch in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for touch

Derived forms of touch

Word Origin for touch

Other Idioms and Phrases with touch