touch in

verb

to initiate an electronic ticketing process at the start of a public transport journey by holding a chipcard or a mobile device close to a terminal or reader

Meanings

verbtouch in (third-person singular simple present touches in, present participle touching in, simple past and past participle touched in)

present singular third person touches in · participle present touching in · participle past touched in · past touched in

  1. intransitiveto initiate an electronic ticketing process at the start of a public transport journey by holding a chipcard or a mobile device close to a terminal or reader

    Commuters have been told not to keep two contactless bank cards in their wallet as the wrong one could be charged when they touch in or out.

    2014 July 25, Miles Brignall, “Contactless bank cards could see tube customers ditch Oyster cards”, in The Guardian, retrieved 03 May 2024
    2 more examples

    If you touch in with a local transit card, then touch out at the same station within the hour, your transit card is not charged, making it possible to visit a store or see someone off on a train cost-free.

    2019 January 8, Feargus O'Sullivan, “How Dutch Transit Agencies Fend Off Fare Evaders”, in Bloomberg, retrieved 03 May 2024

    Tom Page, general manager of the DLR, said at the meeting that differences in data might also come from passengers not touching in or out if they had special ticket types such as Freedom Passes.

    2023 December 19, Joe Coughlan, “Docklands Light Railway fare evaders dodge almost £11m in decade”, in BBC, retrieved 03 May 2024

    Synonyms: tap in, tap on

Synonyms & antonyms

verbto initiate an electronic ticketing process at the start of a public transport journey by holding a chipcard or a mobile device close to a terminal or reader

Cite this entry
APA

touch in. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/touch%20in

MLA

“touch in.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/touch%20in. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “touch in,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/touch%20in.

Source: touch in on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.