Meaning & use
torch
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A stick with a flaming end that is carried to give light.
Grammar: Think of a flaming stick: carry a torch.
Patterns
- carry a torch
The villagers marched with torches through the night.
The Olympic torch passed through the town.
A torch flickered at the cave entrance.
nouncountableBritish
A small electric lamp that you hold in your hand, called a flashlight in American English.
Grammar: A British use: shine a torch.
Patterns
- shine a torch
I need a torch to see under the bed.
He shone his torch into the dark cellar.
The torch battery died halfway through the hike.
nouncountabletechnical
A tool that makes a very hot flame, used for welding, cutting metal or cooking.
Grammar: Often described by use: a welding torch.
Patterns
- a blow torch
- a welding torch
The plumber used a torch to join the pipes.
She finished the dessert with a kitchen torch.
The workers cut the steel with a cutting torch.
verbtransitiveinformal
To set fire to something on purpose, especially a building or vehicle.
Grammar: Takes an object: torch the warehouse.
Patterns
- torch something
Vandals torched an abandoned car.
The owner torched the shed for the insurance money.
Rioters torched several shops.
Word forms
| plural | torches |
|---|---|
| third person singular | torches |
| past tense | torched |
| -ing form | torching |
Common combinations
- carry a torch
- He still carries a torch for his old friend.
- Olympic torch
- Crowds lined the street to see the Olympic torch.
- pass the torch
- The founder will pass the torch to her daughter.
- welding torch
- The welder lit his torch.
- blow torch
- He used a blow torch to strip the old paint.
- torch a building
- Arsonists torched the building overnight.
Synonyms and how they differ
- flashlight
- Flashlight is the American word for a handheld electric lamp, which British speakers call a torch.
- lantern
- A lantern is a lamp with a protective case, usually hung or set down rather than held.
- burn
- Burn is the general word for catching fire, while torch usually means setting fire on purpose.
- flare
- A flare gives a bright signal light and is not meant for lighting a path.
Word family
- torchlight noun
- light from a torch
- torchbearer noun
- a person who carries a torch, or leads a cause
- blowtorch noun
- a tool producing a hot flame
- torched adjective
- set on fire
Commonly confused: torch or torque? torch or touch?
torch vs torque
Torque is a twisting force and is pronounced like torch without the sound at the end.
torch vs touch
Touch is a different word despite the similar spelling and ending.
Practice
In British English, you would say I need a ___ to find my way down the dark path.
Choose one answer.
In British English a torch is a handheld electric lamp. A flare signals for help, and a flame is not a carried tool.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “torch”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.