touch off

Meanings

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

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

idiomatictransitiveTo start (something); to set off traps; especially used for unstable situations that may magnify if disturbed.
Be cautious talking about religion or politics, lest you touch off an argument.
idiomatictransitiveTo cause a fire to start.
A spark touched off the conflagration.
engineeringTo establish a reference coordinate or datum, by moving the tool head to just touch the workpiece or machine bed.
A traditional method of touching off uses a piece of thin paper placed between the tool and workpiece.

verbput in motion or move to act

Broader

Also see

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

French déclencher

déclencherto cause, especially used for unstable situations that may magnify if disturbed

German auslösen

auslösento cause, especially used for unstable situations that may magnify if disturbed

Polish wywoływać, wywołać

wywoływaćto cause, especially used for unstable situations that may magnify if disturbed
wywołaćto cause, especially used for unstable situations that may magnify if disturbed
zaczynaćto cause, especially used for unstable situations that may magnify if disturbed
zacząćto cause, especially used for unstable situations that may magnify if disturbed
powodowaćto cause, especially used for unstable situations that may magnify if disturbed
spowodowaćto cause, especially used for unstable situations that may magnify if disturbed

Portuguese desencadear

desencadearto cause, especially used for unstable situations that may magnify if disturbed

Spanish desencadenar

desencadenarto cause, especially used for unstable situations that may magnify if disturbed

Cite this entry

APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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