touch off
verb
touched off; touching off; touches off
1
a
: to provoke or initiate with sudden intensity
the verdict touched off local riots
b
: to cause to explode by or as if by touching with fire
2
: to describe or characterize with precision
Examples of touch off in a Sentence
his obscene comment touched off a heated debate about the need for censorship on live broadcasts
Recent Examples on the Web
The cigar then touched off cotton goods stored in the warehouse.
—
Jacques Kelly, Baltimore Sun, 7 Feb. 2026
The sprint to build these sprawling facilities, which hold racks of humming servers powered by expensive processors, has touched off an unprecedented level of borrowing, pinched energy supplies and brought developers into conflict with communities worried about rising power and water costs.
—Bloomberg Wire, Dallas Morning News, 6 Feb. 2026
Meanwhile, history shows that major Bitcoin crashes have typically been touched off by multiple factors, not a single event.
—Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 6 Feb. 2026
As San Jose police and other law enforcement agencies converged on the site, authorities say Husien rushed a police sergeant who had just arrived and opened fire, touching off a close-range gunfight in which the sergeant was grazed in the head by a bullet.
—Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 28 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for touch off
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Jacques Kelly, Baltimore Sun, 7 Feb. 2026
The sprint to build these sprawling facilities, which hold racks of humming servers powered by expensive processors, has touched off an unprecedented level of borrowing, pinched energy supplies and brought developers into conflict with communities worried about rising power and water costs.
—Bloomberg Wire, Dallas Morning News, 6 Feb. 2026
Meanwhile, history shows that major Bitcoin crashes have typically been touched off by multiple factors, not a single event.
—Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 6 Feb. 2026
As San Jose police and other law enforcement agencies converged on the site, authorities say Husien rushed a police sergeant who had just arrived and opened fire, touching off a close-range gunfight in which the sergeant was grazed in the head by a bullet.
—Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 28 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for touch off
Cite this Entry
“Touch off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/touch%20off. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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