\
Definition of torch
(Entry 1 of 2)
torch
verbDefinition of torch (Entry 2 of 2)
Keep scrolling for more
Synonyms & Antonyms for torch
Synonyms: Noun
Synonyms: Verb
burn, enkindle, fire, ignite, inflame (also enflame), kindle, light
Antonyms: Verb
douse (also dowse), extinguish, put out, quench, snuff (out)
Visit the Thesaurus for More
Examples of torch in a Sentence
Noun
in an insurance scam, the slumlord hired a torch to burn the tenement downVerb
An arsonist torched the building. police suspect that the owner torched the house for the insurance money
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Other lands have given up hope on passing the torch. — Rina Raphael, New York Times, "Why Doesn’t Anyone Want to Live in This Perfect Place?," 24 Aug. 2019 As Breitbart’s traffic declined following the departure of Bannon, other right-wing sites picked up the torch. — David French, Time, "My Fellow Republicans Must Stand Against the Alt-Right Virus Infecting America," 8 Aug. 2019 The Saunderson Brothers are actively keeping the Detroit techno torch burning with stellar DJ sets and inventive original productions. — Lily Moayeri, Billboard, "Family Business: Five Famous DJs Whose Children Followed In Their Footsteps," 2 Aug. 2019 The Greek neo-fascist party Golden Dawn gathers each year at Thermopylae, lighting torches and chanting anti-immigrant nationalist slogans. — Myke Cole, The New Republic, "The Sparta Fetish Is a Cultural Cancer," 1 Aug. 2019 To be able to not only share this with these people, but also our young players and be able to pass the torch is awesome. — Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post, "Young Rockies inspired by visiting patients at Walter Reed military hospital," 23 July 2019 In other words, if a person in Philadelphia was holding up a dime, a person in New York with the telescope could see the person, the dime, and torch inscribed on the dime. — CBS News, "Building Giant Magellan, the world's largest telescope," 18 July 2019 Some of these grassroots activists quickly became torch holders of Trumpian doctrines, such as Ellen Lee Zhou, a mayoral candidate in San Francisco. — Rong Xiaoqing, National Review, "The Rise of the Chinese-American Right," 17 July 2019 That led to the opening ceremonies, where kids danced and sang and the torch was lit, and carried over to the games, where parents and kids, like the Walkers, came out to watch other teams play. — Giana Han, baltimoresun.com, "After watching Charm City Games kick off, Baltimore community wants to ‘keep it going’," 16 July 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
A week later, Tagovailoa torched Texas A&M on 22 of 30 passing for 387 yards and four touchdowns. — Michael Casagrande | Mcasagrande@al.com, al, "Inside intel on Tua Tagovailoa from opponents speaking candidly about Alabama QB," 21 Aug. 2019 Louisville got torched for 25 touchdowns, third in the ACC, on just 290 passing attempts, lowest in the ACC last season. — Cameron Teague Robinson, The Courier-Journal, "Louisville brings back experience in the secondary, so who will earn playing time?," 26 July 2019 All three businesses torched by the flames are considered a total loss, according to Aisha Knowles, a spokeswoman for the Alameda County Fire Department. — George Avalos, The Mercury News, "San Leandro businesses destroyed in fire on East 14th Street," 21 June 2019 But what gets less attention is the wrenching aftermath of such a huge temblor, which could leave whole neighborhoods torched by fires uninhabitable and hundreds of thousands of people without a home. — Rong-gong Lin Ii And Sarah Parvini, sacbee, "The Big One could leave 250,000 to 400,000 quake refugees in California. Where will they go?," 3 June 2018 In California alone, wildfires over the past two years torched more than 33,000 houses, outbuildings and other structures and killed 146 people. — Matthew Brown, Anchorage Daily News, "Smoke from more intense Western US wildfires raises health risks," 25 June 2019 Next was the offense, which torched Colorado pitching for the second straight day and romped over the Rockies 11-5 to extend the Yankees' winning streak to five. — Ronald Blum, courant.com, "Hot day, hot bats: Yanks torch Rockies 11-5, win 5th in row," 20 July 2019 The Giants torched German Marquez for 11 runs in 2 ⅔ innings. — Henry Schulman, SFChronicle.com, "Giants win the easy way and the hard way in doubleheader sweep of Rockies," 15 July 2019 Demonstrations against the Tekah shooting have turned violent with Molotov cocktails thrown, cars torched, hundreds arrested, and according to reports, nearly 110 police officers were also wounded. — Haleluya Hadero, Quartz Africa, "Ethiopian-Israelis are protesting against police brutality after another shooting," 11 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'torch.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for torch
torch
noun
English Language Learners Definition of torch
(Entry 1 of 2)
torch
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of torch (Entry 2 of 2)
See the full definition for torch in the English Language Learners Dictionary
torch
noun
\