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torch

torch

24 6.2
A tool that makes a very hot flame to cut or join metal
  • noun
  • /tɔrtʃ/
  • Specialized
: soplete
  • I fell in beside a scowling black-bearded man who repeatedly brandished his torch and cried, "To the castle, men!"
  • plasma torch

Every maker worth their stripe needs a micro torch of some of some kind.

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Examples

  • They cut a hole in the CF Dome using an atomic plasma torch.

  • With steady hands, he lit the acetylene torch and turned it on the door.

    Blog text (25)
  • Take a torch for protection.

  • Or you can put this on like the end of a welding torch to cool that down.

  • I had the acetylene torch in my hand...

  • Mr. Jimmy has a torch in here so he can teach basic welding.

  • On the table was a welder's torch and some goggles, which I pushed out of the way.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • The green wood of the improvised torch hissed and smoked as it burned.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • Sulfurous light from the oxy-acetylene torch flashes on the walls and console.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • The welder used a torch to join two pieces of metal together.

Synonyms

blowtorch
vstorch
  • Specialized
16 4.6

A tool that makes a very hot flame to heat or join metal

is used mainly for welding or cutting tasks rather than general use
flamer
vstorch
  • Specialized
2 7.7

A device like a blowtorch or flamethrower that makes a strong, directed flame

is focused on industrial tasks like welding and cutting rather than weapon use
oxyacetylene torch
vstorch
  • Specialized
1 6.7

A torch that makes a very hot flame to cut or join metal using oxygen and acetylene

is the general device used for welding or cutting not one gas mixture
blowlamp
vstorch
  • Archaic
8.6

A small handheld tool that makes a very hot flame for heating metal

is similar but covers broader lab and metalworking usage rather than cutting

Idioms

Give responsibility for your job to the person who will replace you

to carry a torch
  • Informal
5 7.7

Have strong feelings of love for someone who does not love you back

Compounds

torch song
  • Archaic
2 7.0

A sad song about love that is not returned

torch singer
  • Archaic
1 7.9

A person who sings sad songs about love that is not returned

oxyacetylene torch
  • Specialized
1 6.7

A torch that makes a very hot flame to cut or join metal using oxygen and acetylene

1 7.2

A race in which runners pass a lit torch to one another

How Hot

oxyacetylene torch
  • Specialized
1 6.7
torch
  • Specialized
24 6.2
soldering iron
  • Specialized
3 4.7

Surface Forms

torch singular
torches plural

Etymology

Torch was used for tools that make a flame, so the name moved to devices that mix gas and air to give a very hot, controlled flame (like a blowtorch). So you can remember this sense by thinking of a strong, focused 'flame' tool named after the simple burning torch.