- (n.) Tallow; -- a plumber's term.
- (v.t.) To induce to give or lend; to borrow from; as, to touch one for a loan; hence, to steal from.
- (v.t.) To compare with; of be equal to; -- usually with a negative; as, he held that for good cheer nothing could touch an open fire.
- (n.) An act of borrowing or stealing.
- (n.) A set of changes less than the total possible on seven bells, that is, less than 5,040.
- (v.) A touchstone; hence, stone of the sort used for touchstone.
- (v.t.) To infect; to affect slightly.
- (v.t.) To come in contact with; to hit or strike lightly against; to extend the hand, foot or the like, so as to reach or rest on.
- (v.) The particular or characteristic mode of action or the resistance of the keys of an instrument to the fingers; as, a heavy touch or a light touch; also, the manner of touching, striking or pressing the keys of a piano; as, a legato touch; a staccato touch.
- (n.) That part of the field which is beyond the line of flags on either side.
- (v.t.) To influence by impulse; to impel forcibly.
- (v.) A slight and brief essay.
- (v.t.) To come to; to reach; to attain to.
- (v.) The sense by which pressure or traction exerted on the skin is recognized; the sense by which the properties of bodies are determined by contact; the tactile sense. See Tactile sense, under Tactile.
- (v.) A single stroke on a drawing or a picture.
- (v.t.) To relate to; to concern; to affect.
- (v.) Feature; lineament; trait.
- (n.) A boys' game; tag.
- (v.) A small quantity intermixed; a little; a dash.
- (v.t.) To meddle or interfere with; as, I have not touched the books.
- (v.i.) To be brought, as a sail, so close to the wind that its weather leech shakes.
- (v.) The broadest part of a plank worked top and but (see Top and but, under Top, n.) or of one worked anchor-stock fashion (that is, tapered from the middle to both ends); also, the angles of the stern timbers at the counters.
- (v.t.) To be tangent to. See Tangent, a.
- (v.t.) To affect the senses or the sensibility of; to move; to melt; to soften.
- (v.t.) To harm, afflict or distress.
- (v.) The act of touching or the state of being touched; contact.
- (v.) A hint; a suggestion; slight notice.
- (v.t.) To perceive by the sense of feeling.
- (v.t.) To make an impression on; to have effect upon.
- (v.i.) To treat anything in discourse, especially in a slight or casual manner; -- often with on or upon.
- (v.t.) To handle, speak of or deal with; to treat of.
- (v.i.) To be in contact; to be in a state of junction, so that no space is between; as, two spheres touch only at points.
- (v.i.) To fasten; to take effect; to make impression.
- (v.) Act or power of exciting emotion.
- (a.) To lay a hand upon for curing disease.
- (v.) Hence, examination or trial by some decisive standard; test; proof; tried quality.
- (v.) Personal reference or application.
- (v.) A stroke; as, a touch of raillery; a satiric touch; hence, animadversion; censure; reproof.
- (v.t.) To try; to prove, as with a touchstone.
- (v.t.) To mark or delineate with touches; to add a slight stroke to with the pencil or brush.
- (v.t.) To perform, as a tune; to play.
- (v.) An emotion or affection.
- (v.t.) To strike; to manipulate; to play on; as, to touch an instrument of music.
- (v.t.) To affect with insanity, especially in a slight degree; to make partially insane; -- rarely used except in the past participle.
- (v.) The act of the hand on a musical instrument; bence, in the plural, musical notes.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
| APA | Webster's. (2011). touch. Retrieved September 20, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/touch/definitions/2073542 |
| Chicago | Webster's. 2011. "touch" http://smartdefine.org/touch/definitions/2073542 (accessed September 20, 2026). |
| Harvard | Webster's 2011, touch, Smart Define, viewed 20 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/touch/definitions/2073542>. |
| MLA | Webster's. "touch" 28 May 2011. Web. 20 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/touch/definitions/2073542> |