touch

[ tuhch ]

verb (used with object)

1. to put the hand, finger, etc., on or into contact with (something) to feel it:

   He touched the iron cautiously.

   Synonyms: feel, handle

2. to come into contact with and perceive (something), as the hand or the like does.
3. to bring (the hand, finger, etc., or something held) into contact with something:

   She touched a match to the papers.

4. to give a slight tap or pat to with the hand, finger, etc.; strike or hit gently or lightly.
5. to come into or be in contact with.
6. Geometry. (of a line or surface) to be tangent to.
7. to be adjacent to or border on.
8. to come up to; reach; attain.
9. to attain equality with; compare with (usually used with a negative):

   a style that cannot touch that of Shakespeare.

10. to mark by strokes of the brush, pencil, or the like.
11. to mark or relieve slightly, as with color:

    a gray dress touched with blue.

12. to stop at (a place), as a ship:

    The ship touched shore several times during the cruise.

13. to treat or affect in some way by contact.

    Synonyms: impress

14. to affect as if by contact; tinge; imbue.
15. to affect with some feeling or emotion, especially tenderness, pity, gratitude, etc.:

    Their sufferings touched his heart.

    Synonyms: soften, melt, stir, strike, move

16. 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.

17. to eat or drink; consume; taste (usually used with a negative):

    He won't touch another drink.

18. to lay hands on, often in a violent manner:

    Don't you touch this child!

19. to deal with or treat in speech or writing.
20. to refer or allude to.
21. to pertain or relate to:

    a critic in all matters touching the kitchen.

    Synonyms: affect, regard, concern

22. to be a matter of importance to; make a difference to; affect:

    This grave decision touches all of us.

23. Metallurgy. to stamp (metal) as being of standard purity.
24. Slang. to apply to for money, or succeed in getting money from:

    He touched me for five dollars.

25. Slang. to steal from.
26. Archaic.
    1. to strike the strings, keys, etc., of (a musical instrument) so as to cause it to sound.
    2. to play or perform (an air, notes, etc.) on a musical instrument.

verb (used without object)

1. to place the hand, finger, etc., on or in contact with something.
2. to come into or be in contact.
3. to make a stop or a short call at a place, as a ship or those on board (usually followed by at ).

noun

1. the act or state of touching; state or fact of being touched.
2. that sense by which anything material is perceived by means of physical contact.
3. the quality of something touched that imparts a sensation:

   an object with a slimy touch.

4. a coming into or being in contact.
5. mental or moral perception, sensitivity, or understanding:

   He has a marvelous touch in dealing with people.

6. ability, skill, or dexterity; knack:

   to lose one's touch.

7. 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.
8. close communication, agreement, sympathy, or the like:

   to be out of touch with reality; Let's keep in touch.

9. a slight stroke or blow.

   Synonyms: tap, pat

10. a slight attack, as of illness or disease:

    a touch of rheumatism.

11. a slight added action or effort in doing or completing any piece of work:

    to provide the finishing touches.

12. a special detail or feature:

    The berries macerated in extra virgin olive oil were a nice touch that elevated the custard dessert plate.

13. manner of execution in artistic work.
14. the act or manner of touching or fingering a keyboard instrument.
15. the mode of action of the keys of an instrument, as of a piano or typewriter.
16. Change Ringing. a partial series of changes on a peal of bells.
17. a stroke or dash, as with a brush, pencil, or pen.
18. a slight amount of some quality, attribute, etc.:

    a touch of sarcasm in his voice.

19. a slight quantity or degree:

    a touch of salt.

    Synonyms: suggestion, trace, hint

20. a distinguishing characteristic or trait:

    the touch of the master.

21. quality or kind in general.
22. an act of testing something.
23. something that serves as a test; touchstone.
24. Slang.
    1. the act of approaching someone for money as a gift or a loan.
    2. the obtaining of money in this manner.
    3. the money obtained.
    4. a person considered from the standpoint of the relative ease with which they will give or lend money:

       I can always hit him for ten—he's an easy touch.

25. Slang. theft.
26. Metallurgy.
    1. an official mark put upon precious metal after testing to indicate its purity.
    2. a die, stamp, or the like for impressing such a mark.
    3. an identifying mark impressed on pewter by its maker.
27. Soccer. the area outside the touchlines.
28. Rugby. either of the touchlines or the area outside of the touchlines.

verb phrase

1. 1. to mention a subject briefly or casually; treat of in passing:

      In his lecture he touched on the major aspects of the controversy.

   2. to come close to; approach.
   3. to relate or pertain to.
2. (of an airplane) to come into contact with the ground; land.
3. 1. to make minor changes or improvements in the appearance of.
   2. to modify or improve (a painting, photograph, etc.) by adding small strokes or making slight changes.
   3. to rouse by or as if by striking:

      This should touch up your memory.

4. 1. to represent or characterize precisely.
   2. to cause to ignite or explode.
   3. to give rise to; initiate:

      This incident will touch off another crisis.

touch

/ tʌtʃ /

noun

1. 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 fingers haptictactiletactual
2. the quality of an object as perceived by this sense; feel; feeling
3. the act or an instance of something coming into contact with the body
4. a gentle push, tap, or caress
5. a small amount; hint

   a touch of sarcasm

6. a noticeable effect; influence

   the house needed a woman's touch

7. any slight stroke or mark

   with a touch of his brush he captured the scene

8. characteristic manner or style

   the artist had a distinctive touch

9. a detail of some work, esp a literary or artistic work

   she added a few finishing touches to the book

10. a slight attack, as of a disease

    a touch of bronchitis

11. a specific ability or facility

    the champion appeared to have lost his touch

12. the state of being aware of a situation or in contact with someone

    to get in touch with someone

13. the state of being in physical contact
14. a trial or test (esp in the phrase put to the touch )
15. rugby soccer the area outside the touchlines, beyond which the ball is out of play (esp in the phrase in touch )
16. archaic.
    1. an official stamp on metal indicating standard purity
    2. the die stamp used to apply this mark Now usually calledhallmark
17. a scoring hit in competitive fencing
18. an estimate of the amount of gold in an alloy as obtained by use of a touchstone
19. the technique of fingering a keyboard instrument
20. the quality of the action of a keyboard instrument with regard to the relative ease with which the keys may be depressed

    this piano has a nice touch

21. Leisure:Bell-ringing any series of changes where the permutations are fewer in number than for a peal
22. slang.
    1. the act of asking for money as a loan or gift, often by devious means
    2. the money received in this way
    3. a person asked for money in this way

       he was an easy touch

verb

1. tr to cause or permit a part of the body to come into contact with
2. tr to tap, feel, or strike, esp with the hand

   don't touch the cake!

3. to come or cause (something) to come into contact with (something else)

   he touched the match to the fuse

   their hands touched briefly

4. intr to be in contact
5. tr; usually used with a negative to take hold of (a person or thing), esp in violence

   don't touch the baby!

6. to be adjacent to (each other)

   the two properties touch

7. tr to move or disturb by handling

   someone's touched my desk

8. tr to have an effect on

   the war scarcely touched our town

9. tr to produce an emotional response in

   his sad story touched her

10. tr to affect; concern
11. tr; usually used with a negative to partake of, eat, or drink
12. tr; usually used with a negative to handle or deal with

    I wouldn't touch that business

13. whenintr, often foll by on to allude (to) briefly or in passing

    the speech touched on several subjects

14. tr to tinge or tint slightly

    brown hair touched with gold

15. tr to spoil or injure slightly

    blackfly touched the flowers

16. tr to mark, as with a brush or pen
17. tr to compare to in quality or attainment; equal or match

    there's no-one to touch him

18. tr to reach or attain

    he touched the high point in his career

19. intr to dock or stop briefly

    the ship touches at Tenerife

20. slang.
    tr to ask for a loan or gift of money from
21. rare.
    1. to finger (the keys or strings of an instrument)
    2. to play (a tune, piece of music, etc) in this way
22. See base
    touch base
    touch base to make contact See base 1

Derived Forms

• ˈtouchless, adjective
• ˈtouchable, adjective
• ˈtoucher, noun
• ˈtouchableness, noun

Other Words From

• touch·a·ble adjective
• touch·a·ble·ness touch·a·bil·i·ty [tuhch-, uh, -, bil, -i-tee], noun
• touch·er noun
• touch·less adjective
• in·ter·touch verb (used without object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of touch¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of touch¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. put the touch on, Informal. to try to borrow money from:

   Willie put the touch on me for another ten last night.

2. touch base. touch base ( def ).

More idioms and phrases containing touch

• 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

Example Sentences

To let us know how your voting experience goes, here’s how to sign up and get in touch.

From ProPublica

We may not be able to hug each other, for fear of infection, but we can keep in touch digitally.

From Fortune

A battery-powered system of fans stokes your fire with the touch of a button.

From Outside Online

This requires a data-driven approach, measuring gaps as well as progress while still employing the human touch overall.

From Fortune

That offer prompted the employee to get in touch with the FBI, which quickly began monitoring all of Kriuchkov’s actions.

From Fortune

Set a heatproof bowl over a pot of gently simmering water, making sure that the bowl does not touch the surface of the water.

From The Daily Beast

“I had a small touch of prison a couple of times,” Mailer writes to Ehrlichman.

From The Daily Beast

The quote appears on the bronze plaque the players touch before they take the field for home games.

From The Daily Beast

The former vice president is not known as a soft touch, but for a brief moment in 2011, he seemed to hold Clinton in high regard.

From The Daily Beast

Too many designers, Nagrani reckons, stop thinking like entrepreneurs and lose touch with their customers.

From The Daily Beast

The Goliath wouldn't answer; the Dublin said the force was coming off, and we could not get into touch with the soldiers at all.

From Project Gutenberg

He made me think of an old time magician more than anything, and I felt that with a touch of his wand he could transform us all.

From Project Gutenberg

He thought they were now in touch with our troops at "X" but that they had been through some hard fighting to get there.

From Project Gutenberg

Thanks to Berthier's admirable system, Bonaparte was kept in touch with every part of his command.

From Project Gutenberg

Tausig possessed this repose in a technical way, and his touch was marvellous; but he never drew the tears to your eyes.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• ability
• approach
• communication
• contact
• effect
• familiarity
• flair
• hand
• influence
• knack
• skill
• style
• talent
• technique
• understanding