TORCH Definition & Meaning

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torch

[ tawrch ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

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.
something considered as a source of illumination, enlightenment, guidance, etc.:
the torch of learning.
any of various lamplike devices that produce a hot flame and are used for soldering, burning off paint, etc.
Slang. an arsonist.
Chiefly British. flashlight ( def 1 ).

verb (used without object)

to burn or flare up like a torch.

verb (used with object)

to subject to the flame or light of a torch, as in order to burn, sear, solder, or illuminate.
Slang. to set fire to maliciously, especially in order to collect insurance.

torch

[ tawrch ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

verb (used with object)

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

torch

/ ��ɔː��ʃ /

noun

a small portable electric lamp powered by one or more dry batteries US and Canadian wordflashlight
a wooden or tow shaft dipped in wax or tallow and set alight
anything regarded as a source of enlightenment, guidance, etc
the torch of evangelism
any apparatus that burns with a hot flame for welding, brazing, or soldering
carry a torch for
to be in love with, esp unrequitedly
put to the torch
to set fire to; burn down
the looted monastery was put to the torch

verb

slang.
tr to set fire to, esp deliberately as an act of arson

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Derived Forms

ˈ�ٴǰ��ˌ��, adjective

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Other �y��vlog Forms

�ٴǰ��a·�� adjective
�ٴǰ��l�� adjective
�ٴǰ��l�� adjective

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of torch¹

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

Origin of torch²

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”; torch ¹

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of torch¹

C13: from Old French torche handful of twisted straw, from Vulgar Latin torca (unattested), from Latin �ٴǰ��ŧ�� to twist

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Idioms and Phrases

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.

More idioms and phrases containing torch

see carry a torch ; pass the torch .

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

“A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles,” Lazarus wrote shortly after the Civil War in 1883.

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So although swaths of the range were torched by the Palisades fire in January, hikers there probably won’t face off with it.

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There’s geysers of gore and a skinhead who gets turned into a tiki torch.

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Since opening at the beginning of March, the bar has hosted shows for a wide range of genres and carries the torch for Los Angeles underground music.

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Sir Keir Starmer said the drama, about a 13-year-old boy accused of murder, was "a torch that shines intensely brightly on a combination of issues that many people don't know how to respond to".

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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