torch

1
[ tawrch ]
See synonyms for: torchtorchedtorching on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. 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.

  2. something considered as a source of illumination, enlightenment, guidance, etc.: the torch of learning.

  1. any of various lamplike devices that produce a hot flame and are used for soldering, burning off paint, etc.

  2. Slang. an arsonist.

  3. Chiefly British. flashlight (def. 1).

verb (used without object)
  1. to burn or flare up like a torch.

verb (used with object)
  1. to subject to the flame or light of a torch, as in order to burn, sear, solder, or illuminate.

  2. Slang. to set fire to maliciously, especially in order to collect insurance.

Idioms about torch

  1. 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

1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English noun torch(e), from Old French torche, torque, from Vulgar Latin torca (unattested) “something twisted”; see origin at torque

Other words from torch

  • torch·a·ble, adjective
  • torchless, adjective
  • torchlike, adjective

Words Nearby torch

Other definitions for torch (2 of 2)

torch2
[ tawrch ]

verb (used with object)
  1. Masonry. to point (the joints between roofing slates) with a mixture of lime and hair.

Origin of torch

2
First recorded in 1850–60; from French torcher “to plaster with a mixture of clay and chopped straw,” derivative of torche “a twist of straw”; see also torch1

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use torch in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for torch

torch

/ (tɔːtʃ) /


noun
  1. a small portable electric lamp powered by one or more dry batteries: US and Canadian word: flashlight

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

  1. anything regarded as a source of enlightenment, guidance, etc: the torch of evangelism

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

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

  4. put to the torch to set fire to; burn down: the looted monastery was put to the torch

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

Origin of torch

1
C13: from Old French torche handful of twisted straw, from Vulgar Latin torca (unattested), from Latin torquēre to twist

Derived forms of torch

  • torchlike, adjective

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 torch

torch

see carry a torch; pass the torch.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.