torch

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A torch is a long stick with a flame at one end that gives off light and heat. It's often used as a portable source of fire.

You might have seen people carrying a torch on a hike or camping trip, using it to find their way through the dark. You can also see them in movies where heroes are escaping from danger, with the hero usually holding a torch to light their way. In addition, when we're voting for something important like a leader or policy, the winning side is often said to have "carried the torch", meaning they successfully promoted and achieved what they wanted.

How common is "torch"?

Word torch is considered uncommon in modern English.
It appears most frequently in fiction texts and less often in other writings.

Definitions

noun

A stick of wood or plant fibres twisted together, with one end soaked in a flammable substance such as resin or tallow and set on fire, which is held in the hand, put into a wall bracket, or stuck into the ground, and used chiefly as a light source.
Example: The mob of angry villagers carried torches and pitchforks to the vampire’s castle.
A flower which is red or red-orange in colour like a flame.
A spike (“kind of inflorescence”) made up of spikelets.
The common mullein, great mullein, or torchwort (Verbascum thapsus).
A cactus with a very elongated body; a ceroid cactus; a torch cactus or torch-thistle.
A source of enlightenment or guidance.
In carry, hand on,take up pass on the torch: a precious cause, principle, tradition, etc., which needs to be protected and transmitted to others.
(science fiction) Ellipsis of torch drive (“a spacecraft engine which produces thrust by nuclear fusion”).
(chiefly Canada, US) Ellipsis of blowtorch (“a tool which projects a controlled stream of a highly flammable gas over a spark in order to produce a controlled flame”).
(US, slang) An arsonist.

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Real examples of "torch" in context

Jason Momoa on Stealing from Aquaman Set, Love of Motorcycles & Making a Family Knife with His Kids

Interview

You're supposed to be wearing safety glasses when you operate a torch of that type, correct?

7:57

torch

How common is "torch"?

noun

Real examples of "torch" in context

Jason Momoa on Stealing from Aquaman Set, Love of Motorcycles & Making a Family Knife with His Kids

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