touch
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To make physical contact with a thing.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
tuhchIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈtʌtʃ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
intransitive
To make physical contact with a thing.
transitive
To make intimate physical contact with a person.
Make physical contact with, come in contact with
Be in direct physical contact with; make contact
Primarily physical senses.
Cause to be in brief contact with
“He touched his toes to the horse's flanks.”
noun
An act of touching, especially with the hand or finger.
The faculty or sense of perception by physical contact.
The part of a sports field beyond the touchlines or goal-lines.
A distinguishing feature or characteristic.
A little bit; a small amount.
uncountablein set phrases
A relationship of close communication or understanding.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To make physical contact with a thing.
Used this way, touch is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use touch
- “He touched his toes to the horse's flanks.”verb
- “Helen Keller felt the physical world by touching people and objects around her.”verb
- “Touch the stone for good luck.”verb
Share your sentence
Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Having come into contact.
The event of something coming in contact with the body.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Typewriting in which the fingers are trained to hit particular keys.
Type without looking at the keyboard.
Typewriting in which the fingers are trained to hit particular keys.
A skilled typist who can type a document without looking at the keyboard.
Alter so as to produce a more desirable appearance.
The sensation produced by pressure receptors in the skin.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
A computer display that enables the user to interact with the computer by touching areas on the screen.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: to make physical contact with a thing
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “touch” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.