touch ( touches plural & 3rd person present) ( touching present participle) ( touched past tense & past participle )
1 verb If you touch something, you put your hand onto it in order to feel it or to make contact with it.
Her tiny hands gently touched my face... V n
The virus is not passed on through touching or shaking hands. V-ing
Touch is also a noun., n-count usu sing
Sometimes even a light touch on the face is enough to trigger off this pain.
2 v-recip If two things are touching, or if one thing touches another, or if you touch two things, their surfaces come into contact with each other.
Their knees were touching ... pl-n V
A cyclist crashed when he touched wheels with another rider... V pl-n with n
If my arm touches the wall, it has to be washed again... V n
In some countries people stand close enough to touch elbows... V pl-n
He touched the cow's side with his stick. V n with n
3 n-uncount Your sense of touch is your ability to tell what something is like when you feel it with your hands.
The evidence suggests that our sense of touch is programmed to diminish with age.
4 verb To touch something means to strike it, usually quite gently.
As the aeroplane went down the runway the wing touched a pile of rubble. V n
5 verb If something has not been touched, nobody has dealt with it or taken care of it.
usu passive, with brd-neg
When John began to restore the house in the 1960s, nothing had been touched for 40 years. be V-ed
6 verb If you say that you did not touch someone or something, you are emphasizing that you did not attack, harm or destroy them, especially when you have been accused of doing so.
with brd-neg (emphasis)
Pearce remained adamant, saying `I didn't touch him'... V n
I was in the garden. I never touched the sandwiches. V n
7 verb You say that you never touch something or that you have not touched something for a long time to emphasize that you never use it, or you have not used it for a long time.
no passive, with brd-neg (emphasis)
He doesn't drink much and doesn't touch drugs... V n
8 verb If you touch on a particular subject or problem, you mention it or write briefly about it.
The film touches on these issues, but only superficially... V on/upon n
9 verb If something touches you, it affects you in some way for a short time.
...a guilt that in some sense touches everyone... V n
10 verb If something that someone says or does touches you, it affects you emotionally, often because you see that they are suffering a lot or that they are being very kind.
It has touched me deeply to see how these people live... it V n to-inf
Her enthusiasm touched me. V n
touched adj v-link ADJ
I was touched to find that he regards me as engaging...
11 verb If something is touched with a particular quality, it has a certain amount of that quality.
WRITTEN usu passive
His crinkly hair was touched with grey... be V-ed with n
The boy was touched with genius. be V-ed with n
12 verb If you say about someone that nobody can touch him or her for a particular thing, you mean that he or she is much better at it than anyone else.
no cont, no passive, with brd-neg
No one can touch these girls for professionalism. V n for n, Also V n
13 verb To touch a particular level, amount, or score, especially a high one, means to reach it.
(mainly BRIT) no passive
By the third lap Kinkead had touched 289 m.p.h. V n
14 n-count A touch is a detail which is added to something to improve it.
They called the event `a tribute to heroes', which was a nice touch...
15 n-sing If someone has a particular kind of touch, they have a particular way of doing something.
The dishes he produces all have a personal touch...
16 quant A touch of something is a very small amount of it.
QUANT of n-uncount
She thought she just had a touch of flu...
17 You can use a touch to mean slightly or to a small extent, especially in order to make something you say seem less extreme. For example, if you say that something is a touch expensive, you might really think that it is very expensive.
a touch phrase PHR adj/adv/prep (vagueness)
We were all a touch uneasy, I think..., I found it a touch distasteful.
19 You use at the touch of in expressions such as at the touch of a button and at the touch of a key to indicate that something is possible by simply touching a switch or one of the keys of a keyboard.
at the touch of phrase PHR n, usu PHR after v
Staff will be able to trace calls at the touch of a button.
20 If you say that someone has the common touch, you mean that they have the natural ability to have a good relationship with ordinary people and be popular with them.
common touch phrase usu PHR after v (approval)
21 If you get in touchwith someone, you contact them by writing to them or telephoning them. If you are, keep, or stay in touchwith them, you write, phone, or visit each other regularly.
in touch phrase PHR after v, v-link PHR, usu PHR with n
The organisation would be in touch with him tomorrow...
22 If you are in touchwith a subject or situation, or if someone keeps you in touchwith it, you know the latest news or information about it. If you are out of touchwith it, you do not know the latest news or information about it.
in touch/out of touch phrase PHR after v, v-link PHR, usu PHR with n
...keeping the unemployed in touch with the labour market..., Mr Cavazos' problem was that he was out of touch.
23 If you lose touchwith someone, you gradually stop writing, telephoning, or visiting them.
lose touch phrase V inflects, PHR with n, pl-n PHR
In my job one tends to lose touch with friends...
24 If you lose touchwith something, you no longer have the latest news or information about it.
lose touch phrase V inflects, usu PHR with n
Their leaders have lost touch with what is happening in the country.
25 If you say that something is touch and go, you mean that you are uncertain whether it will happen or succeed.
touch and go phrase v-link PHR, oft PHR wh
It was touch and go whether we'd go bankrupt.
26 If you say that someone is a soft touch or an easy touch, you mean that they can easily be persuaded to lend you money or to do things for you.
a soft touch/an easy touch phrase v-link PHR
Pamela was an easy touch when she needed some cash.
would not touch someone or something with a barge pole →
barge pole →
the finishing touch →
touch wood →
wood touch down phrasal verb When an aircraft touches down, it lands.
(=land) Spacecraft Columbia touched down yesterday... V P touch off phrasal verb If something touches off a situation or series of events, it causes it to start happening.
(=spark off) Is the massacre likely to touch off a new round of violence? V P n (not pron), Also V n P
out of touch
1 adj Someone who is out of touchwith a situation is not aware of recent changes in it.
v-link ADJ, oft ADJ with n
Washington politicians are out of touch with the American people...
2 adj If you are out of touch with someone, you have not been in contact with them recently and are not familiar with their present situation.
v-link ADJ, oft ADJ with n
James wasn't invited. We've been out of touch for years.
touch paper , touchpaper
If someone lights the touch paper or lights the blue touch paper, they do something which causes anger or excitement.
light the (blue) touch paper phrase V inflects
This kind of remark is guaranteed to light the blue touch paper with some Labour politicians.
touch-screen ( touch-screens plural ) A touch-screen is a computer screen that allows the user to give commands to the computer by touching parts of the screen rather than by using the keyboard or mouse. (COMPUTING) n-count oft N n
A touch-tone telephone has numbered buttons that make different sounds when you press them. Some automatic telephone services can only be used with this kind of telephone. adj ADJ n