trigger
[trig-er]
- a small projecting tongue in a firearm that, when pressed by the finger, actuates the mechanism that discharges the weapon.
- a device, as a lever, the pulling or pressing of which releases a detent or spring.
- anything, as an act or event, that serves as a stimulus and initiates or precipitates a reaction or series of reactions.
- Slang. triggerman.
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- to initiate or precipitate (a chain of events, scientific reaction, psychological process, etc.): Their small protest triggered a mass demonstration.
- to fire or explode (a gun, missile, etc.) by pulling a trigger or releasing a triggering device: He accidentally triggered his rifle.
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- to release a trigger.
- to become active; activate.
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- quick on the trigger, Informal. quick to act or respond; impetuous; alert.
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Origin of trigger
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for trigger
Contemporary Examples
People felt that crossed all lines, and then it became a story, so there are tipping points that trigger a public response.
I was the one to trigger the detonator, and for that I take full responsibility.
Hell Hath No Fury Like Valerie Trierweiler, the French President’s ExLizzie Crocker
November 28, 2014
Even private institutions, which most likely have less bureaucratic hurdles to deal with, have been slow to pull the trigger.
But witnesses say Muataz definitely was the shooter, and he even went so far as to apologize to Glick before pulling the trigger.
But this Pavlovian trigger cannot be effective indefinitely.
Historical Examples
Had his fist in my face before I could get my finger on the trigger.
Way of the LawlessMax Brand
He had missed, and when the sergeant was ready to pull the trigger also Slade was gone.
The Rock of ChickamaugaJoseph A. Altsheler
He pressed the trigger at just the right time as the buck was rising in the air.
With Trapper Jim in the North WoodsLawrence J. Leslie
But he did not shoot, though one could see how his fingers must itch for the feel of the trigger.
Good IndianB. M. Bower
Put up your sword, for the trigger falls easy, and my finger is a twitching.'
Micah ClarkeArthur Conan Doyle
trigger
- a small projecting lever that activates the firing mechanism of a firearm
- machinery a device that releases a spring-loaded mechanism or a similar arrangement
- any event that sets a course of action in motion
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- (usually foll by off) to give rise (to); set off
- to fire or set in motion by or as by pulling a trigger
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Word Origin
C17 tricker, from Dutch trekker, from trekken to pull; see trek
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 trigger
n.
1650s, earlier tricker (1620s), from Dutch trekker "trigger," from trekken "to pull" (see trek). Tricker was the usual form in English until c.1750. Trigger-happy is attested from 1943.
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v.
1930, from trigger (n.). Related: Triggered; triggering.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with trigger
trigger
In addition to the idiom beginning with trigger
- trigger happy
also see:
- quick on the draw (trigger)
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.