Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To cause or permit a part of the body, especially the hand or fingers, to come in contact with so as to feel.
  • intransitive verb To bring something into light contact with.
  • intransitive verb To bring (one thing) into light contact with something else.
  • intransitive verb To press or push lightly; tap.
  • intransitive verb To lay hands on in violence.
  • intransitive verb To eat or drink; taste.
  • intransitive verb To disturb or move by handling.
  • intransitive verb To meet without going beyond; adjoin.
  • intransitive verb Mathematics To be tangent to.
  • intransitive verb To come up to; reach.
  • intransitive verb To match in quality; equal.
  • intransitive verb To deal with, especially in passing; treat briefly or allusively.
  • intransitive verb To be pertinent to; concern.
  • intransitive verb To affect the emotions of; move to tender response.
  • intransitive verb To injure slightly.
  • intransitive verb To color slightly; tinge.
  • intransitive verb To draw with light strokes.
  • intransitive verb To change or improve by adding fine lines or strokes.
  • intransitive verb To stamp (tested metal).
  • intransitive verb Slang To wheedle a loan or handout from.
  • intransitive verb Archaic To strike or pluck the keys or strings of (a musical instrument).
  • intransitive verb To play (a musical piece).
  • intransitive verb To touch someone or something.
  • intransitive verb To be or come into contact.
  • noun The act or an instance of touching.
  • noun A light push; a tap.
  • noun Sports An instance of contacting or propelling the ball or puck.
  • noun The physiological sense by which external objects or forces are perceived through contact with the body.
  • noun A sensation experienced in touching something with a characteristic texture.
  • noun A discernible mark or effect left by contact with something.
  • noun A small change or addition, or the effect achieved by it.
  • noun A suggestion, hint, or tinge.
  • noun A mild attack.
  • noun A small amount; a dash.
  • noun A manner or technique of striking the keys of a keyboard instrument.
  • noun The resistance to pressure characteristic of the keys of a keyboard.
  • noun An ability to propel a ball a desired distance; control or accuracy.
  • noun A facility; a knack.
  • noun A characteristic way of doing things.
  • noun The state of being in contact or communication.
  • noun An official stamp indicating the quality of a metal product.
  • noun The act of approaching someone for a loan or handout.
  • noun A prospect for a loan or handout.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English touchen, from Old French touchier, ultimately from Vulgar Latin *toccāre.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English touchen, tochen, from Old French tochier ("to touch"; > Modern French toucher; compare French doublet toquer ("to offend, bother, harass")), from Vulgar Latin *toccāre (“to knock, strike, offend”), from Old Frankish *tokkōn, *tukkōn (“to knock, strike, touch”), from Proto-Germanic *tukkōnan, *tukkijanan (“to draw, jerk, knock, strike, offend”), from Proto-Indo-European *dukn-, *dewk- (“to draw, pull, lead”). Cognate with Old High German zochhōn, zuhhōn ("to grasp, take, seize, snatch"; > German zucken ("to jerk, flinch")), Low German tokken, tukken ("to fidget, twitch, pull up, entice"), Middle Dutch tocken, tucken ("to touch, entice"; > Dutch tokkelen ("to strum, pluck")), Old English tucian, tūcian ("to disturb, mistreat, ill-treat; offend; afflict, harass, vex; punish, torment"; > English tuck). Compare also Old Frisian tetzia, tetsia ("to seize, appropriate to oneself"), Gothic 𐍄𐌴𐌺𐌰𐌽 (tekan, "to touch"), Old Norse taka ("to touch, grasp"), Middle Low German tacken ("to touch"), Old English tacan ("to touch, take"). Cognate to Albanian cek ("to touch"). More at tuck, take.

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Examples

  • It seemed to take him a long time to touch bottom, and when he had, he wondered if _touch_ was quite the word.

    The Impossibles Laurence M. Janifer 1967

  • It seemed to take him a long time to touch bottom, and when he had, he wondered if _touch_ was quite the word.

    Out Like a Light Randall Garrett 1957

  • By means of the nerves terminating in the touch corpuscles, the skin serves as the _organ of touch_, or feeling

    Physiology and Hygiene for Secondary Schools Francis M. Walters

  • "So brilliant," said she, "so short-lived, as my friend Lady Emmeline K---- once said, 'London wit is like gas, which lights at a touch, and at a touch can be extinguished;'" and Lady Davenant concluded with a compliment to him who was known to have this "_touch and go_" of good conversation to perfection.

    Tales and Novels — Volume 10 Maria Edgeworth 1808

  • Slide 9: Word Work  un+ touch+ ed = untouched - not to touch  un + know +

    Recently Uploaded Slideshows 2008

  • I gotta put my hands on those motors -- touch 'em -- I mean really _touch 'em_ -- then I know what to do! "

    Stand by for Mars! Carey Rockwell

  • Running away without keeping in touch is something that a 19 year old fry cook at Dennys would do, but a governor?

    Sanford to return to work Wednesday, staff says 2009

  • I don't actually follow Northern Irish news all that closely these days, but one of the ways I keep in touch is to read the weekly political update from lobbying firm Chambré Public Affairs (I still feel a bit guilty about nearly putting the author's eye out with an arrow from a toy bow when he was five and I was six).

    Linkspam for 12-6-2009 nwhyte 2009

  • Why my fellow award winners and nominees have not kept in touch is beyond me.

    Eyes on the Prize 2009

  • Seventy-one percent report that keeping in touch is easier, 53% report it improves communication, and 45% report that family relationships overall are improved with the Internet.

    Web Teacher › Norton Online Living Report for 2009 2009

  • The “triple touch” approach, including phone, email, and LinkedIn, is now widely used for prospecting (with chats and AI bots expected to follow soon).

    Driving Startup Growth With Cold Outreach: Use Cases And Best Practices Rimma Sytnik 2021

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