touch

touch

synonyms, antonyms, definitions, examples & translations of touch in English

English Online Dictionary. What means touch‎? What does touch mean?

English

Etymology

From Middle English touchen, tochen, from Old French tochier (“to touch”) (whence Modern French toucher; compare French doublet toquer (“to offend, bother, harass”)), from Vulgar Latin *tuccō (“to knock, strike, offend”), from Frankish *tukkōn (“to knock, strike, touch”), from Proto-Germanic *tukkōną (“to tug, grab, grasp”), from Proto-Indo-European *dewk- (“to draw, pull, lead”). Displaced native Middle English rinen, from Old English hrīnan (whence Modern English rine).

Pronunciation

  • enPR: tŭch, IPA(key): /tʌt͡ʃ/
  • (dialectal, archaic) enPR: tĕch, IPA(key): /tɛt͡ʃ/
  • (Appalachia, obsolete) enPR: tŏch, IPA(key): /tɑt͡ʃ/
  • Rhymes: -ʌtʃ

Verb

touch (third-person singular simple present touches, present participle touching, simple past and past participle touched)

  1. Primarily physical senses.
    1. (transitive) To make physical contact with; to bring the hand, finger or other part of the body into contact with. [from 14th c.]
      Synonyms: contact; see also Thesaurus:feel
    2. (transitive) To come into (involuntary) contact with; to meet or intersect. [from 14th c.]
    3. (intransitive) To come into physical contact, or to be in physical contact. [from 14th c.]
    4. (intransitive) To make physical contact with a thing. [from 14th c.]
    5. (transitive) To physically disturb; to interfere with, molest, or attempt to harm through contact. [from 14th c.]
    6. (transitive) To make intimate physical contact with a person.
      Synonyms: caress, fondle, grope
    7. (transitive or reflexive) To sexually excite with the fingers; to finger or masturbate. [from 20th c.]
    8. (transitive) To cause to be briefly in contact with something.
      He quickly touched his knee to the worn marble.
      The demonstrator nearly touched the rod on the ball.
      She touched her lips to the glass.
    9. (transitive) To physically affect in specific ways implied by context. [from 15th c.]
    10. (transitive) To begin to consume, or otherwise use. [from 15th c.]
      Synonyms: see Thesaurus:ingest
    11. (intransitive) Of a ship or its passengers: to land, to make a short stop (at). [from 16th c.]
    12. (transitive, now historical) To lay hands on (someone suffering from scrofula) as a form of cure, as formerly practised by English and French monarchs. [from 17th c.]
    13. (intransitive, obsolete) To fasten; to take effect; to make impression.
    14. (nautical) To bring (a sail) so close to the wind that its weather leech shakes.
    15. (intransitive, nautical) To be brought, as a sail, so close to the wind that its weather leech shakes.
    16. (nautical) To keep the ship as near (the wind) as possible.
  2. Primarily non-physical senses.
    1. (transitive) To imbue or endow with a specific quality. [from 14th c.]
    2. (transitive, archaic) To deal with in speech or writing; to mention briefly, to allude to. [from 14th c.]
      Synonyms: see Thesaurus:mention
      • , I.2.4.vii:
        Next to sorrow still I may annex such accidents as procure fear; for besides those terrors which I have before touched, […] there is a superstitious fear […] which much trouble many of us.
    3. (intransitive) To deal with in speech or writing; briefly to speak or write (on or upon something). [from 14th c.]
      Synonyms: refer; see also Thesaurus:pertain
    4. (transitive) To concern, to have to do with. [14th–19th c.]
      • 1919, Saki, ‘The Penance’, The Toys of Peace, Penguin 2000 (Complete Short Stories), page 423:
        And now it seemed he was engaged in something which touched them closely, but must be hidden from their knowledge.
    6. (transitive) To affect emotionally; to bring about tender or painful feelings in. [from 14th c.]
      Synonyms: affect, move, stir
    7. (transitive, dated) To affect in a negative way, especially only slightly. [from 16th c.]
    8. (transitive, Scottish history) To give royal assent to by touching it with the sceptre. [from 17th c.]
    9. (transitive, slang) To obtain money from, usually by borrowing (from a friend). [from 18th c.]
    10. (transitive, always passive) To disturb the mental functions of; to make somewhat insane; often followed with "in the head". [from 18th c.]
      Synonyms: dement; see also Thesaurus:becraze
    11. (transitive, in negative constructions) To be on the level of; to approach in excellence or quality. [from 19th c.]
      Synonyms: match, rival; see also Thesaurus:be equal
    12. (transitive) To come close to; to approach.
      Synonym: near
    13. (transitive, computing) To mark (a file or document) as having been modified.
  3. To try; to prove, as with a touchstone.
    Synonym: test
  4. To mark or delineate with touches; to add a slight stroke to with the pencil or brush.
  5. (obsolete) To infect; to affect slightly.
  6. To strike; to manipulate; to play on.
  7. To perform, as a tune; to play.
  8. To influence by impulse; to impel forcibly.

Conjugation

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

touch (countable and uncountable, plural touches)

  1. An act of touching, especially with the hand or finger.
    Synonyms: contact, contaction, taction
  2. The faculty or sense of perception by physical contact.
    Synonyms: tactition; see also Thesaurus:tactition
  3. The style or technique with which one plays a musical instrument.
  4. (music) The particular or characteristic mode of action, or the resistance of the keys of an instrument to the fingers.
  5. A distinguishing feature or characteristic.
    Synonyms: trait; see also Thesaurus:characteristic
  6. A little bit; a small amount.
    Synonyms: smidgen; see also Thesaurus:modicum
  7. The part of a sports field beyond the touchlines or goal-lines.
  8. A relationship of close communication or understanding.
    Synonyms: connection, contact
  9. The ability to perform a task well; aptitude.
    Synonyms: proficiency; see also Thesaurus:skill
  10. (obsolete) Act or power of exciting emotion.
  11. (obsolete) An emotion or affection.
    Synonyms: feeling; see also Thesaurus:emotion
  12. (obsolete) Personal reference or application.
  13. A single stroke on a drawing or a picture.
  14. (obsolete) A brief essay.
    Synonyms: essayette, essaylet, miniessay
  15. (obsolete) A touchstone; hence, stone of the sort used for touchstone.
  16. (obsolete) Examination or trial by some decisive standard; test; proof; tried quality.
  17. (shipbuilding) The broadest part of a plank worked top and but, or of one worked anchor-stock fashion (that is, tapered from the middle to both ends); also, the angles of the stern timbers at the counters.
  18. The children's game of tag.
    Synonyms: it; see also Thesaurus:tag
  19. (bell-ringing) A set of changes less than the total possible on seven bells, i.e. less than 5,040.
  20. (slang) An act of borrowing or stealing something; a request for money.
  21. (slang) The extent to which a person is interested or affected; the amount of outlay on something.
    Synonyms: consideration, expenditure, payment
  22. (UK, plumbing, dated) Tallow.
  23. Form; standard of performance.
    • 2019 In the mix: Who's pushing for selection for round seven? Australian Football League, 30 April 2019. Accessed 6 May 2019.
      Jackson Hately, Isaac Cumming and Nick Shipley have been in great touch in the NEAFL.
  24. (Australian rules football) A disposal of the ball during a game, i.e. a kick or a handball.
    • 2019 In the mix: Who's pushing for selection for round seven? Australian Football League, 30 April 2019. Accessed 6 May 2019.
      With just six touches, small forward Daniel Rioli was uncharacteristically quiet against Melbourne, although he did lay five tackles.
  25. (chiefly Australia) touch football (a variant of rugby league that does not involve tackling)

Derived terms

Translations

References

Further reading

  • “touch”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

  • chout, couth

Italian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English touch (screen).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈtat͡ʃ/*
  • Rhymes: -atʃ

Adjective

touch (invariable)

  1. (technology) being touch screen (of a screen)

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English touch (screen).

Pronunciation

Adjective

touch (invariable)

  1. (technology) being touch screen (of a screen)

Spanish

Adjective

touch (invariable)

  1. touch; touch-screen

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This article based on an article on Wiktionary. The list of authors can be seen in the page history there. The original work has been modified. This article is distributed under the terms of this license.