English Dictionary

Definition of “touch”

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touch (tʌtʃPronunciation for touch) 

Definitions

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 called hallmark
  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. 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)  ⇒ their hands touched briefly he touched the match to the fuse 
  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. intr, 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. (tr) slang 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 touch base

See also

touchdown , touch off , touch up

Alternative Forms

ˈtouchable adjective ˈtouchableness noun ˈtoucher noun ˈtouchless adjective

Word Origin

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

Synonyms

View thesaurus entry
= feel, handle, finger, stroke, brush, make contact with graze, caress, fondle, lay a finger on, palpate,
= come into contact meet, contact, border, brush, come together, graze, adjoin, converge, be in contact abut, impinge upon
= handle, use, move, hold, pick up, disturb, interfere with tamper with, toy with, fiddle with, meddle with lay a hand on lay a finger on, play about or around with
= tap, hit, strike, push, pat,
= deal with, do, handle, take care of, see to, attend to,
= affect, mark, involve, strike, get to, influence, inspire, impress, get through to have an effect on make an impression on
= consume, take, drink, eat, partake of,
= move, upset, stir, disturb, melt, soften, tug at someone's heartstrings leave an impression on
= match, rival, equal, compare with parallel, come up to, come near be on a par with be a match for hold a candle to be in the same league as
= ask, approach, beg, borrow from
= get involved in use, deal with, handle, have to do with, utilize, be a party to concern yourself with
= reach, hit, come to, rise to, arrive at, attain, get up to,
= contact, push, stroke, brush, press, tap, poke, nudge, prod, caress, fondling,
= feeling, feel, handling, physical contact palpation, tactility,
= detail, feature, addition, accessory, nicety,
= bit, spot, trace, drop, taste, suggestion, hint, dash, suspicion, pinch, smack, small amount tinge, whiff, jot, speck, smattering, intimation, tincture,
= style, approach, method, technique, way, manner, characteristic, trademark, handiwork,
= awareness, understanding, acquaintance, familiarity,
= communication, contact, association, connection, correspondence,
= skill, ability, flair, art, facility, command, craft, mastery, knack, artistry, virtuosity, deftness, adroitness,
= influence, hand, effect, management, direction,

Translations

  • British English: touch Pronunciation for touch If you touch something, you put your fingers or your hand on it.The baby touched my face.tʌtʃ VERB The baby touched my face.
  • Spanish: tocar Pronunciation for tocar v
  • French: toucher Pronunciation for toucher vt
  • German: berühren Pronunciation for berühren v
  • Chinese: 触摸Pronunciation for 触摸 v
  • Arabic: يَلْمِسُPronunciation for يَلْمِسُ v
  • Portuguese: tocarPronunciation for tocar v
  • Russian: трогатьPronunciation for трогать v
  • Croatian: dodirPronunciation for dodir nm
  • Czech: dotknout (se)Pronunciation for dotknout (se) v dotýkat (se)
  • Danish: rørePronunciation for røre v
  • Dutch: aanrakenPronunciation for aanraken v
  • Finnish: koskeaPronunciation for koskea v
  • Greek: αγγίζωPronunciation for αγγίζω v
  • Italian: toccarePronunciation for toccare v
  • Japanese: 触れるPronunciation for 触れる v
  • Korean: 만지다Pronunciation for 만지다 v
  • Norwegian: berørePronunciation for berøre v
  • Polish: dotknąćPronunciation for dotknąć v dotykać
  • Brazilian Portuguese: tocarPronunciation for tocar v
  • European Spanish: tocar Pronunciation for tocar v
  • Swedish: vidröraPronunciation for vidröra v
  • Thai: สัมผัสPronunciation for สัมผัส v
  • Turkish: dokunmakPronunciation for dokunmak v
  • Vietnamese: chạm vàoPronunciation for chạm vào v
  • British English: touch If one thing touches another, or two things touch, they are so close that there is no space between them.Her feet touched the floor.tʌtʃ VERB Her feet touched the floor.
  • French: se toucher vi
  • Arabic: يَلْمُسُ v
  • Brazilian Portuguese: tocar vt

Usage examples

  • In any case it seemed a strange choice, the baroque touch of someone who was getting a kick out of the situation.
    Hugo Wilcken, THE EXECUTION (2002)
  • The story he tells of France from the Dark Ages to the present day is always told with verve and a sureness of touch.
    Country Life (2004)
  • Credit unions are aware of the needs of small companies and "are in touch with reality "Mr Condon explained.
    Irish Times (2002)
  • I would love to think that we could boot the Welsh bid into touch.
    Glasgow Herald (2001)
  • To touch something is to feel it, to experience its essence.
    Amoda, MOVING INTO ECSTASY: An Urban Mystic's Guide to Movement, Music and Meditation (2001)

Commonness

All English words that begin with 'T'

Related Terms

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