touch (t?ch)v. touched, touch·ing, touch·es v.tr.1. To cause or permit a part of the body, especially the hand or fingers, to come in contact with so as to feel: reached out and touched the smooth stone.2. a. To bring something into light contact with: touched the sore spot with a probe.b. To bring (one thing) into light contact with something else: grounded the radio by touching a wire to it; touching fire to a fuse.3. To press or push lightly; tap: touched a control to improve the TV picture; touched 19 on the phone to get room service.4. To lay hands on in violence: I never touched him!5. To eat or drink; taste: She didn’t touch her food.6. To disturb or move by handling: Just don’t touch anything in my room!7. a. To meet without going beyond; adjoin: the ridge where his property touches mine.b. Mathematics To be tangent to.c. To come up to; reach: when the thermometer touches 90°.d. To match in quality; equal: Rival artists can’t touch her work at its best.8. To deal with, especially in passing; treat briefly or allusively: some remarks touching recent events.9. To be pertinent to; concern: environmental problems that touch us all.10. To affect the emotions of; move to tender response: an appeal that touched us deeply.11. To injure slightly: plants touched by frost.12. To color slightly; tinge: a white petal touched with pink.13. a. To draw with light strokes.b. To change or improve by adding fine lines or strokes.14. To stamp (tested metal).15. Slang To wheedle a loan or handout from: touched a friend for five dollars.16. a. Archaic To strike or pluck the keys or strings of (a musical instrument).b. To play (a musical piece).v.intr.1. To touch someone or something.2. To be or come into contact: Don’t let the live wires touch.n.1. a. The act or an instance of touching.b. A light push; a tap: an electric switch that requires just a touch.c. Sports An instance of contacting or propelling the ball or puck: scored on the first touch.2. The physiological sense by which external objects or forces are perceived through contact with the body.3. A sensation experienced in touching something with a characteristic texture: felt the touch of snowflakes on her face.4. A discernible mark or effect left by contact with something.5. A small change or addition, or the effect achieved by it: Candlelight provided just the right touch.6. A suggestion, hint, or tinge: a touch of jealousy.7. A mild attack: a touch of the flu.8. A small amount; a dash: a touch of paprika.9. a. A manner or technique of striking the keys of a keyboard instrument: He played briskly with a light touch.b. The resistance to pressure characteristic of the keys of a keyboard: an old piano with uneven touch.10. An ability to propel a ball a desired distance; control or accuracy: a golfer with no touch around the green.11. A facility; a knack: retained his touch as a carpenter in his retirement.12. A characteristic way of doing things: recognized my friend’s touch in the choice of the card.13. The state of being in contact or communication: kept in touch with several classmates; out of touch with current trends.14. An official stamp indicating the quality of a metal product.15. Slang a. The act of approaching someone for a loan or handout.b. A prospect for a loan or handout: a generous person, a soft touch for beggars.16. Sports a. The area just outside the sidelines in soccer or just outside and including the sidelines in Rugby.b. Touch football.Phrasal Verbs: touch down To make contact with the ground; land: The spacecraft touched down on schedule. touch off1. To cause to explode; fire.2. To initiate; trigger: disclosures that touched off a public uproar.3. To describe or portray with deft precision. touch on (or upon)1. To deal with (a topic) in passing.2. To pertain to; concern.3. To approach being; verge on: enthusiasm that touched on frenzy. touch out Sports To win a swimming race just ahead of (a competitor) by touching the end of the pool first. touch up To improve by making minor corrections, changes, or additions.Idioms: in touch1. Aware of the latest developments, as in current events or an area of interest.2. Able to appreciate or understand the concerns or difficulties of others.3. Able to be contacted, as by telephone or email: I will be in touch by phone after I arrive at the hotel. out of touch1. Unaware of the latest developments, as in current events or an area of interest.2. Unable to appreciate or understand the concerns or difficulties of others.3. Unable to be contacted, as by telephone or email: I will be out of touch during my flight to Los Angeles.touch base/bases Informal To renew a line of communication: “He went out of his way to touch base with a broad cross section of … residents” (George B. Merry).[Middle English touchen, from Old French touchier, ultimately from Vulgar Latin *tocc?re.]touch?a·ble adj.touch?a·ble·ness n.touch?er n.Synonyms: feel, finger, handle, paw These verbs mean to bring the hands or fingers into contact with so as to give or receive a physical sensation: gently touched my hand; felt the runner’s pulse; fingered the worry beads; handle a bolt of fabric; fans who pawed the celebrity’s arm. See Also Synonyms at move.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.touch (t?t?) n1. the sense by which the texture and other qualities of objects can be experienced when they come in contact with a part of the body surface, esp the tips of the fingers. 2. the quality of an object as perceived by this sense; feel; feeling3. the act or an instance of something coming into contact with the body4. a gentle push, tap, or caress5. a small amount; hint: a touch of sarcasm. 6. a noticeable effect; influence: the house needed a woman’s touch. 7. any slight stroke or mark: with a touch of his brush he captured the scene. 8. characteristic manner or style: the artist had a distinctive touch. 9. a detail of some work, esp a literary or artistic work: she added a few finishing touches to the book. 10. a slight attack, as of a disease: a touch of bronchitis. 11. a specific ability or facility: the champion appeared to have lost his touch. 12. the state of being aware of a situation or in contact with someone: to get in touch with someone. 13. the state of being in physical contact14. a trial or test (esp in the phrase put to the touch)15. (Rugby) rugby soccer the area outside the touchlines, beyond which the ball is out of play (esp in the phrase in touch)16. (Historical Terms) archaic a. an official stamp on metal indicating standard purityb. the die stamp used to apply this mark. Now usually called: hallmark 17. (Fencing) a scoring hit in competitive fencing18. (Metallurgy) an estimate of the amount of gold in an alloy as obtained by use of a touchstone19. (Music, other) the technique of fingering a keyboard instrument20. (Music, other) the quality of the action of a keyboard instrument with regard to the relative ease with which the keys may be depressed: this piano has a nice touch. 21. (Music, other) bell-ringing any series of changes where the permutations are fewer in number than for a peal22. slang a. the act of asking for money as a loan or gift, often by devious meansb. the money received in this wayc. a person asked for money in this way: he was an easy touch. vb23. (tr) to cause or permit a part of the body to come into contact with24. (tr) to tap, feel, or strike, esp with the hand: don’t touch the cake!. 25. to come or cause (something) to come into contact with (something else): their hands touched briefly; he touched the match to the fuse. 26. (intr) to be in contact27. (tr; usually used with a negative) to take hold of (a person or thing), esp in violence: don’t touch the baby!. 28. to be adjacent to (each other): the two properties touch. 29. (tr) to move or disturb by handling: someone’s touched my desk. 30. (tr) to have an effect on: the war scarcely touched our town. 31. (tr) to produce an emotional response in: his sad story touched her. 32. (tr) to affect; concern33. (tr; usually used with a negative) to partake of, eat, or drink34. (tr; usually used with a negative) to handle or deal with: I wouldn’t touch that business. 35. (when: intr, often foll by on) to allude (to) briefly or in passing: the speech touched on several subjects. 36. (tr) to tinge or tint slightly: brown hair touched with gold. 37. (tr) to spoil or injure slightly: blackfly touched the flowers. 38. (tr) to mark, as with a brush or pen39. (tr) to compare to in quality or attainment; equal or match: there’s no-one to touch him. 40. (tr) to reach or attain: he touched the high point in his career. 41. (intr) to dock or stop briefly: the ship touches at Tenerife. 42. (tr) slang to ask for a loan or gift of money from43. (Music, other) rare a. to finger (the keys or strings of an instrument)b. to play (a tune, piece of music, etc) in this way44. touch base to make contact. See base126[C13: from Old French tochier, from Vulgar Latin tocc?re (unattested) to strike, ring (a bell), probably imitative of a tapping sound] ?touchable adj ?touchableness n ?toucher n ?touchless adjCollins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014touch (t?t?) v.t. 1. to put the hand, finger, etc., on or into contact with (something) so as to feel it. 2. to bring (the hand, finger, etc., or something held) into contact with something: She touched a match to the papers. 3. to pat or tap as with the hand or an instrument. 4. to come into contact with. 5. (of a line or surface) to be tangent to. 6. to attain equality with; compare with (usu. with a negative): a style that can’t touch that of Shakespeare. 7. to mark slightly with a brush, pencil, or a color. 8. to treat or affect in some way by contact. 9. to move to tenderness or sympathy. 10. to handle, use, or have to do with (usu. with a negative): She can’t touch the money until she’s 21. 11. to eat or drink; consume (usu. with a negative): He won’t touch another drink. 12. to lay hands on, often in a violent manner. 13. to deal with or allude to in speech or writing. 14. to pertain or relate to. 15. to be a matter of importance to; affect. 16. Slang. to apply to for money, or succeed in getting money from: He touched me for a loan. 17. Archaic. a. to strike the strings, keys, etc., of (a musical instrument) so as to cause it to sound. b. to play or perform (an air, notes, etc.) on a musical instrument. v.i. 18. to place the hand, finger, etc., on or in contact with something. 19. to come into or be in contact. 20. touch down, (of an aircraft or spacecraft) to land. 21. touch off, a. to cause to ignite or explode. b. to start or initiate. 22. touch on or upon, to mention (a subject) briefly or casually. 23. touch up, a. to make minor changes or improvements in the appearance of. b. to rouse by or as if by striking. n. 24. the act of touching; state or fact of being touched. 25. that sense by which anything material is perceived by means of physical contact. 26. the quality of something touched that imparts a sensation; feel. 27. a coming into or being in contact. 28. ability, skill, or dexterity; knack: to lose one’s touch. 29. (in fencing) the contact of the point of a foil or épée or the point or edge of the blade of a saber with a specified portion of the opponent’s body, counting one point for the scorer. 30. relationship or close communication: Let’s keep in touch. 31. a slight stroke or blow. 32. a slight attack, as of illness or disease. 33. a slight added action or effort in completing any piece of work: finishing touches. 34. manner of execution in artistic work. 35. the act or manner of touching or fingering a keyboard instrument. 36. the mode of action of the keys of an instrument, as of a piano or typewriter. 37. a slight amount of some quality, attribute, etc. 38. a slight quantity or degree: a touch of salt. 39. Slang. a. the act of approaching someone for money as a gift or a loan. b. the obtaining of money in this manner. c. the money obtained. d. a person considered from the standpoint of the relative ease with which he or she will lend money. 40. a. the area outside the touchlines in soccer. b. either of the touchlines or the area outside them in Rugby. [1250?1300; Middle English to(u)chen If you touch something, you gently put your fingers or hand on it.If you are touched by something, it makes you feel sad, sympathetic, or grateful.You do not use ‘touch’ to say that something changes or influences a person or thing. You do not say, for example, ‘We wanted to know how these proposals would touch our town’. The word you use is affect.