often attributive
1
: a burning stick of resinous wood or twist of tow used to give light and usually carried in the hand : flambeau
2
: something (such as tradition, wisdom, or knowledge) likened to a torch as giving light or guidance
pass the torch to the next generation
3
: any of various portable devices for emitting an unusually hot flame
compare blowtorch
4
chiefly British : flashlight sense 1
torched; torching; torches
: to set fire to with or as if with a torch
Synonyms of torch
Examples of torch in a Sentence
Noun several suspicious fires in the past few months have probably been set by the same torch Verb An arsonist torched the building. police suspect that the owner torched the house for the insurance money
Recent Examples on the Web
Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026 Following his heart attack, Jakes passed the torch to his daughter, naming her co-senior pastor of The Potter's House alongside her husband, Touré Roberts. —Virginia Chamlee, PEOPLE, 20 Apr. 2026
Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 25 Apr. 2026 In Australia, synagogues were firebombed, cars torched and Jewish community buildings defaced – the types of attacks recently seen in the United Kingdom that have prompted calls for a crackdown on antisemitism. —Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 25 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for torch
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
When Raphael died, a hundred torches were carried by painters at his funeral, and he was buried in the rotunda of the Pantheon. —Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026 Following his heart attack, Jakes passed the torch to his daughter, naming her co-senior pastor of The Potter's House alongside her husband, Touré Roberts. —Virginia Chamlee, PEOPLE, 20 Apr. 2026
Verb
The Hawks, however, torched the Knicks in transition, scoring 20 fast break points to New York’s 15 and 21 points off turnovers to 18 for the Knicks. —Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 25 Apr. 2026 In Australia, synagogues were firebombed, cars torched and Jewish community buildings defaced – the types of attacks recently seen in the United Kingdom that have prompted calls for a crackdown on antisemitism. —Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 25 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for torch
Cite this Entry
“Torch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.grautoblog.com/dictionary/torch. Accessed 27 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
TORCH
noun
: a group of infectious diseases that cause similar symptoms in newborns and that include especially toxoplasmosis, cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex, and rubella
Etymology
Noun
toxoplasma, rubella virus, cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex virus
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