trigger

[trig-er]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR trigger ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.

verb (used with object)

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.

verb (used without object)

to release a trigger.

to become active; activate.

Idioms

quick on the trigger, Informal. quick to act or respond; impetuous; alert.

Origin of trigger

1615–25; earlier tricker < Dutch trekker, equivalent to trekk(en) to pull + -er -er¹

Related formsun·trig·gered, adjective

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

Related Words for triggered

prompt, start, produce, spark, provoke, cause, generate, elicit, activate

Examples from the Web for triggered

Contemporary Examples of triggered

The Big Five banks dubbed too big to fail, are 35 percent bigger than they were when the meltdown was triggered.
Sen. Warren’s Main Street Crusade to Pressure Clinton
Eleanor Clift
January 8, 2015
No alarms were triggered as she strolled out of the Giant supermarket in Limerick, Pennsylvania, and nobody thought otherwise.
The Insane $11 Billion Scam at Retailers’ Return Desks
M.L. Nestel
December 19, 2014
The Daily Beast: What triggered you to take up this initiative?
James Patterson Goes Full ‘Fahrenheit 451’ With Burning Book Video
William O’Connor
November 25, 2014
In defiance, I held my ticket above my head, which triggered the spitting and chants of “How Dare You!”
Inside the Metropolitan Opera’s Insane Year
Shawn E. Milnes
November 23, 2014
Instead, Sanders sold it for a sweet $87,000, which triggered an inevitable lawsuit (PDF).
Bid on CIA’s Osama Action Figure, Lewinsky's Lingerie, and More at This L.A. Auction House
Asawin Suebsaeng
November 11, 2014

Historical Examples of triggered

Joe Chessman took his heavy gun from its holster and triggered it twice.
Adaptation
Dallas McCord Reynolds
The inner airlock door in the orbit-ship was triggered to a fuse.
Gold in the Sky
Alan Edward Nourse
Perhaps it was just the sound of the word in his head that triggered off the sudden panic.
Captives of the Flame
Samuel R. Delany
The associations had triggered the wrong words into existence.
Forget Me Nearly
Floyd L. Wallace
With you helping, we can isolate the thing that triggered you out of this.
All Day Wednesday
Richard Olin

British Dictionary definitions for triggered

trigger

noun

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

verb (tr)

(usually foll by off) to give rise (to); set off

to fire or set in motion by or as by pulling a trigger

Derived Formstriggered, adjectivetriggerless, adjective

Word Origin for trigger

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 triggered

trigger

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.

trigger

1930, from trigger (n.). Related: Triggered; triggering.

Idioms and Phrases with triggered

trigger

In addition to the idiom beginning with trigger

trigger happy

also see:

quick on the draw (trigger)