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torch

1 American  
[tawrch] / tɔrtʃ /

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.

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

  4. Slang. an arsonist.

  5. Chiefly British. flashlight.

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

  1. carry the / a torch for, to be in love with, especially to suffer from unrequited love for.

    He still carries a torch for his ex-wife.
torch 2 American  
[tawrch] / tɔrtʃ /

verb (used with object)

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

torch British  
/ tɔːtʃ /

noun

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

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

  3. anything regarded as a source of enlightenment, guidance, etc

    the torch of evangelism

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

  5. to be in love with, esp unrequitedly

  6. to set fire to; burn down

    the looted monastery was put to the torch
"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

verb

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

"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
torch More Idioms  

  1. see carry a torch; pass the torch.

Other Word Forms

  • torchable adjective
  • torchless adjective
  • torchlike adjective

Etymology

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“When things crystallize like this, it brings out the pitchforks and the torches,” said Marc Cenedella, CEO of the jobs platform Ladders.

From The Wall Street Journal

"Our generation is laying the groundwork for the youth to pick up the torch one day," he said.

From Barron's

Another trend visible across social networks is one of growing emergency preparedness: people stockpiling canned food, torches and water bottles, and assembling emergency backpacks.

From BBC

Smoking in a raffish suit like a film noir baddie with a shock of red hair ready to torch the world, Noble’s Richard employs a dusky, ironic voice to flaying effect.

From Los Angeles Times

We took a torch through the trees until we came to the clearing with the apple tree, standing so still and perfect in the dark.

From Literature

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

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