torch
verb/tɔːtʃ/
/tɔːrtʃ/
(informal)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they torch | /tɔːtʃ/ /tɔːrtʃ/ |
| he / she / it torches | /ˈtɔːtʃɪz/ /ˈtɔːrtʃɪz/ |
| past simple torched | /tɔːtʃt/ /tɔːrtʃt/ |
| past participle torched | /tɔːtʃt/ /tɔːrtʃt/ |
| -ing form torching | /ˈtɔːtʃɪŋ/ /ˈtɔːrtʃɪŋ/ |
- torch something to set fire to a building or vehicle deliberately in order to destroy it
- The houses had been looted and then torched.
- Rioters threw bottles at police and torched a number of cars.
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French torche, from Latin torqua, variant of torques ‘necklace, wreath’, from torquere ‘to twist’. The current verb sense was originally US slang and dates from the 1930s.
Check pronunciation:
torch