What does torch mean?

Definitions for torch
tɔrtʃtorch

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word torch.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. torchnoun

    a light usually carried in the hand; consists of some flammable substance

  2. common mullein, great mullein, Aaron's rod, flannel mullein, woolly mullein, torch, Verbascum thapsusnoun

    tall-stalked very woolly mullein with densely packed yellow flowers; ancient Greeks and Romans dipped the stalks in tallow for funeral torches

  3. flashlight, torchnoun

    a small portable battery-powered electric lamp

  4. blowtorch, torch, blowlampverb

    a burner that mixes air and gas to produce a very hot flame

  5. torchverb

    burn maliciously, as by arson

    "The madman torched the barns"

Wiktionary

  1. torchnoun

    A stick with a flame on one end used as a light source.

    The mob of angry villagers carried torches and pitchforks to the vampire's castle.

  2. torchnoun

    A portable source of electric light.

    Ernst slipped and dropped his torch on the flagstones, shattering the bulb and plunging us into darkness.

  3. torchverb

    To set fire to, especially using a torch (1) above.

    Some hoodlums had torched a derelict automobile, which emitted a ghastly pall of thick, black smoke that filled the street.

  4. Etymology: From torche, ultimately from torqueo.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Torchnoun

    A wax light generally supposed to be bigger than a candle.

    Etymology: torche, French; torcia, Italian; intortitium, low Latin.

    Basilius knew, by the wasting of the torches, that the night also was far wasted. Philip Sidney.

    Here lies the dusky torch of Mortimer,
    Choak’d with ambition of the meaner sort. William Shakespeare.

    They light the nuptial torch, and bid invoke
    Hymen. John Milton.

    Never was known a night of such distraction;
    Noise so confus’d and dreadful: torches gliding
    Like meteors, by each other in the streets. Dryden.

    I’m weary of my part;
    My torch is out; and the world stands before me
    Like a black desart at th’ approach of night. Dryden.

Wikipedia

  1. Torch

    A torch is a stick with combustible material at one end, which is ignited and used as a light source. Torches have been used throughout history, and are still used in processions, symbolic and religious events, and in juggling entertainment. In some countries "torch" in modern usage is the term for a battery-operated portable light.

ChatGPT

  1. torch

    A torch is a portable device that generates light, typically through combustion or electricity. It may refer to a stick with a flame at one end, traditionally used for illumination or as a signal during the night, or to a battery-powered device also known as flashlight, used to provide light in dark areas.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Torchnoun

    a light or luminary formed of some combustible substance, as of resinous wood; a large candle or flambeau, or a lamp giving a large, flaring flame

  2. Torchnoun

    a flashlight

Wikidata

  1. Torch

    A torch is a fire source, usually a rod-shaped piece of wood with a rag soaked in pitch and/or some other flammable material wrapped around one end. Torches were often supported in sconces by brackets high up on walls, to throw light over corridors in stone structures such as castles or crypts. This traditional use of the word lives on in the Olympic Torch, procession torches and the like. A torch carried in relay by cross-country runners is used to light the Olympic flame which burns without interruption until the end of the Games. These torches and relay tradition were introduced in 1936 Summer Olympics by Carl Diem, the chairman of the event because during the duration of the Ancient Olympic Games in Olympia, a sacred flame burns inside of the temple of Hera, kept in custody by her priestess. If a torch is made of sulfur mixed with lime, the fire will not diminish after being plunged into water. Such torches were used by the ancient Romans. Procession torches are made from coarse hessian rolled into a tube and soaked in wax. There is usually a wooden handle and a cardboard collar to deflect any wax droplets. They are an easy, safe and relatively cheap way to hold a flame aloft in a parade, or to provide illumination in any after-dark celebration.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Torch

    torch, n. a light formed of twisted tow dipped in pitch or other inflammable material: a large candle or flambeau.—ns. Torch′-bear′er; Torch′-dance; Torch′er (Shak.), one who gives light with, or as with, a torch; Torch′ing, a way of catching fish at night with torch-light-and spear; Torch′-light; Torch′-race.—n.pl. Torch′-staves (Shak.), staves for carrying torches. [Fr. torche—L. tortum, pa.p. of torquēre, to twist.]

Suggested Resources

  1. torch

    Song lyrics by torch -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by torch on the Lyrics.com website.

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. TORCH

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Torch is ranked #84463 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Torch surname appeared 222 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Torch.

    92.7% or 206 total occurrences were White.
    4.5% or 10 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.

British National Corpus

  1. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'torch' in Nouns Frequency: #2741

Anagrams for torch »

  1. rotch

  2. chort

How to pronounce torch?

How to say torch in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of torch in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of torch in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of torch in a Sentence

  1. Yu Kurashige:

    I think the torch relay is something that's really important for Japan but this time cancellation was unavoidable, the most important thing is everyone's safety.

  2. Fla President Barack Obama:

    We watched a hero light a torch, and fight his greatest fight of all on the world stage once again; a battle against the disease that ravaged his body, but couldn’t take the spark from his eyes.

  3. Bhartrihari:

    The constant man loses not his virtue in misfortune. A torch may point towards the ground, but its flame will still point upwards.

  4. Erma Bombeck:

    We've got a generation now who were born with semiequality. They don't know how it was before, so they think, this isn't too bad. We're working. We have our attache' cases and our three piece suits. I get very disgusted with the younger generation of women. We had a torch to pass, and they are just sitting there. They don't realize it can be taken away. Things are going to have to get worse before they join in fighting the battle.

  5. Andrew Cuomo:

    People come to New York, they come to see the sights, and it's important at this dark time in our country to keep the torch on the Statue of Liberty lit, metaphorically.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

torch#10000#12910#100000

Translations for torch

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

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"torch." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/torch>.

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