- (British English) (also flashlight North American English, British English)a small electric lamp that you can hold in your hand and carry with you
- Shine the torch on the lock while I try to get the key in.
Extra Examples- The policeman flashed his torch over the men's faces.
- The torch flickered and went out.
- We struggled to read the map by the light of the torch.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- powerful
- electric
- carry
- have
- switch off
- …
- flash
- shine
- beam
- the beam of a torch
- the light from a torch
- the light of a torch
- …
- (also blowtorch (both North American English))(British English blowlamp)a tool for directing a very hot flame onto part of a surface, for example to remove paint
- a long stick that has material at one end that is set on fire and that people carry to give light
- a flaming torch
- the Olympic torch
Extra Examples- Supporters carried flaming torches to welcome him.
- They lit their torches from the fire.
- The torches were burning fiercely.
- The path to the castle was lit by blazing torches.
- Servants were carrying lighted torches.
- (figurative) I'm ready to pass the torch on to the next generation (= let a younger person take my place or job).
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- blazing
- burning
- flaming
- …
- light
- carry
- hold
- …
- light
- burn
- flare
- …
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.
Idioms
See torch in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionarycarry a torch for somebody
- to be in love with somebody, especially somebody who does not love you in returnTopics Feelingsc2
put something to the torch
- (literary) to set fire to something deliberately
Check pronunciation:
torch