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torch

n. · v.
US //ˈtɔɹtʃ// UK //tˈɔːtʃ// torch
  1. 1 battery-powered light (n.)
    A2 Elementary British English

    a small electric lamp that you carry in your hand.

    a portable, battery-operated electric lamp. This is the standard term in British English, equivalent to the American 'flashlight'.

    Example

    She used a torch to find her way through the dark garden.

    Example

    The hikers checked their torches before entering the cave, ensuring the batteries were fresh enough for the three-hour trek.

    Usage

    In British English, 'torch' is the everyday word for a handheld light; 'flashlight' is rarely used.
  2. 2 flaming stick (n.)
    B1 Intermediate

    a long stick with a burning end used as a light source.

    a wooden pole or brand with a flammable end ignited to provide light or to set fire to something.

    Example

    The villagers carried torches to light the path during the festival.

    Example

    The castle guards placed burning torches in iron brackets along the stone corridor to illuminate the entrance for the arriving guests.
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  1. 3 symbol of guidance (n.)
    C1 Advanced Literary

    a source of light that represents a great idea or leadership.

    a figurative source of enlightenment, inspiration, or a tradition passed from one person to another.

    Example

    The teacher passed the torch of knowledge to her students.

    Example

    The retiring CEO expressed his confidence in the new leadership team as they prepared to take up the torch and guide the firm through the merger.
  2. 4 to set on fire (v.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Informal

    to intentionally set fire to a building or vehicle.

    to deliberately set fire to property, often in the context of arson or total destruction.

    Example

    The old warehouse was torched by vandals over the weekend.

    Example

    The investigators concluded that the restaurant had been torched for insurance money, as they found traces of accelerant in the kitchen area.
  3. 5 to ruin a reputation (v.)
    C2 Proficiency Informal Slang

    to say very bad things about someone to ruin their reputation.

    to severely criticise or disparage someone or something, effectively destroying their credibility or reputation.

    Example

    The critic torched the director's new movie in his latest review.

    Example

    The senator's reputation was torched by the leaked documents, leaving him with almost no support from his own party during the election.
Etymology 1

The noun is derived from Middle English torch, torche (“large candle; lighted stick; (figurative) sunbeam”), from Old French torche, torque (“torch; bundle of (twisted) straw”) (modern French torche); further etymology uncertain, probably from Vulgar Latin torca (“coiled object”) (referring to a torch made from twisted plant fibres dipped in a flammable substance such as pitch), from Latin torqua, a variant of torquis (“collar of twisted metal, torque; wreath”), from torqueō (“to twist, wind”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European terkʷ- (“to spin; to turn”). Sense 2.3 (Verbascum thapsus) is either due to the plant’s spike of yellow flowers, or because its leaves and stalks were used to make torches (noun sense 1). Sense 3.2 (“precious cause, etc., which needs to be protected and transmitted to others”) is derived from Latin lampada trādere, from Ancient Greek λᾰμπᾰ́δᾰ πᾰρᾰδιδόναι (lămpắdă părădidónai, “to hand over the torch”), a reference to the torch race held at various festivals such as the Panathenaic Games in Ancient Greece, which involved a relay where a torch was passed from one runner to another. The verb is derived from the noun.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from French torcher (“to daub; to wipe; to build or plaster with clay mixed with chopped straw”), from torche (“bundle of (twisted) straw; torch”) (see further at etymology 1) + -er (suffix forming the infinitives of first-conjugation verbs).

Idioms2 entries

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