touch

[[t]tʌ̱tʃ[/t]]

♦♦

touches, touching, touched

1) VERB If you touch something, you put your hand onto it in order to feel it or to make contact with it.

[V n] Her tiny hands gently touched my face...

[V n] Don't touch that dial...

[V n] She reached down, touching her toes with opposite hands...

[V-ing] The virus is not passed on through touching or shaking hands.

N-COUNT: usu sing

Touch is also a noun.

Sometimes even a light touch on the face is enough to trigger off this pain.

2) V-RECIP-ERG 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.

[pl-n V] Their knees were touching ...

[V pl-n with n] A cyclist crashed when he touched wheels with another rider...

[V n] If my arm touches the wall, it has to be washed again...

[V pl-n] In some countries people stand close enough to touch elbows...

[V n with n] He touched the cow's side with his stick.

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.

...boys and girls who are blind and who want to be able to read and write by touch.

4) VERB To touch something means to strike it, usually quite gently.

[V n] He scored the first time he touched the ball...

[V n] As the aeroplane went down the runway the wing touched a pile of rubble.

5) VERB: usu passive, with brd-neg If something has not been touched, nobody has dealt with it or taken care of it.

[be V-ed] When John began to restore the house in the 1960, nothing had been touched for 40 years.

6) VERB: with brd-neg (emphasis) 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.

[V n] Pearce remained adamant, saying `I didn't touch him'...

[V n] I was in the garden. I never touched the sandwiches.

7) VERB: no passive, with brd-neg (emphasis) 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.

[V n] He doesn't drink much and doesn't touch drugs...

[V n] His diet is vegetarian, and he hasn't touched meat for six years...

[V n] Jones hasn't touched a trumpet in 10 years.

8) VERB If you touch on a particular subject or problem, you mention it or write briefly about it.

[V on/upon n] The film touches on these issues, but only superficially...

[V on/upon n] She writes about women's idealisation of men, touching briefly on the topic of women's fantasy life.

9) VERB If something touches you, it affects you in some way for a short time.

[V n] ...a guilt that in some sense touches everyone...

[V n] Nor had the benefits of the war years touched all sectors of the population.

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 V n to-inf] It has touched me deeply to see how these people live...

[V n] Her enthusiasm touched me.

Syn:

move

Derived words:

touched ADJ-GRADED v-link ADJ

I was touched to find that he regards me as engaging...

He was touched that we came.

11) VERB: usu passive If something is touched with a particular quality, it has a certain amount of that quality. [WRITTEN]

[be V-ed with n] His crinkly hair was touched with grey...

[be V-ed with n] Kasparov understood the boy was touched with genius.

12) VERB: no cont, no passive, with brd-neg 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.

[V n for n] No one can touch these girls for professionalism. [Also V n]

13) VERB: no passive To touch a particular level, amount, or score, especially a high one, means to reach it. [mainly BRIT]

[V n] By the third lap Kinkead had touched 289 m.p.h....

[V n] The winds had touched storm-force the day before.

14) VERB If you touch someone for money, you ask them to give it to you. [INFORMAL]

[V n for n] Now is the time to touch him for a loan.

15) N-COUNT: supp N 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...

Small touches to a room such as flowers can be what gives a house its vitality.

16) N-SING: with supp 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...

The striker was unable to find his scoring touch.

17) QUANT: QUANT of n-uncount A touch of something is a very small amount of it.

She thought she just had a touch of flu...

At university he wrote a bit, did a touch of acting, and indulged in internal college politics.

18) PHRASE: PHR adj/adv/prep (vagueness) 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. [mainly BRIT]

We were all a touch uneasy, I think...

I found it a touch distasteful.

Syn:

a bit

19) → See also touching

20) PHRASE: PHR n, usu PHR after v 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.

Staff will be able to trace calls at the touch of a button.

...seats that flip out at the touch of a lever.

21) PHRASE: usu PHR after v (approval) 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.

Unlike many senior judges, he has consistently shown that he has the common touch.

22) PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR, usu PHR with n If you get in touch with someone, you contact them by writing to them or telephoning them. If you are, keep, or stay in touch with them, you write, phone, or visit each other regularly.

I will get in touch with solicitors about this...

The organisation would be in touch with him tomorrow...

My parents were constantly in touch.

23) PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR, usu PHR with n If you are in touch with a subject or situation, or if someone keeps you in touch with it, you know the latest news or information about it. If you are out of touch with it, you do not know the latest news or information about it.

You'll also be kept in touch with local Oxfam events.

...keeping the unemployed in touch with the labour market...

Mr Cavazos' problem was that he was out of touch.

24) PHR-RECIP: V inflects, PHR with n, pl-n PHR If you lose touch with someone, you gradually stop writing, telephoning, or visiting them.

In my job one tends to lose touch with friends...

We lost touch after that.

25) PHRASE: V inflects, usu PHR with n If you lose touch with something, you no longer have the latest news or information about it.

Their leaders have lost touch with what is happening in the country.

26) PHRASE: v-link PHR, oft PHR whether If you say that something is touch and go, you mean that you are uncertain whether it will happen or succeed.

It was touch and go whether we'd go bankrupt.

27) PHRASE: v-link PHR 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. [INFORMAL]

Mr Wilson is no soft touch...

Pamela was an easy touch when she needed some cash.

28) would not touch someone or something with a bargepole → see barge

the finishing touch → see finish

touch wood → see wood

Phrasal Verbs:

- touch down

- touch off