- (British English) (also flashlight North American English, British English)
a small electric lamp that you can hold in your hand and carry with you 手电筒 Extra ExamplesThe policeman flashed his torch over the men's faces. 警察用手电筒照那些男子的脸。 The torch flickered and went out. 火把闪了几下熄灭了。 We struggled to read the map by the light of the torch. 我们藉着手电筒光费力地看地图。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- powerful
- electric
- carry
- have
- switch off
- …
- flash
- shine
- beam
- the beam of a torch
- the light from a torch
- the light of a torch
- …
- (also blowtorch (both North American English))(British English blowlamp)
a tool for directing a very hot flame onto part of a surface, for example to remove paint 喷灯 a long stick that has material at one end that is set on fire and that people carry to give light 火炬;火把 a flaming torch 燃烧着的火炬 the Olympic torch 奥林匹克火炬
Extra ExamplesSupporters carried flaming torches to welcome him. 支持者们手擎点燃的火炬来欢迎他。 They lit their torches from the fire. 他们在火上点燃了火把。 The torches were burning fiercely. 火把炽烈地燃烧着。 The path to the castle was lit by blazing torches. 通往城堡的路有燃烧的火把照得通亮。 Servants were carrying lighted torches. 仆人们举着点燃的火把。 - (figurative)
I'm ready to pass the torch on to the next generation (= let a younger person take my place or job). 我随时准备把火炬传给下一代。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- blazing
- burning
- flaming
- …
- light
- carry
- hold
- …
- light
- burn
- flare
- …
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French torche, from Latin torqua, variant of torques ‘necklace, wreath’, from torquere ‘to twist’. The current verb sense was originally US slang and dates from the 1930s.
Idioms
carry a torch for somebody
to be in love with somebody, especially somebody who does not love you in return Topics Feelingsc2爱上(尤指单相思);痴恋
put something to the torch
- (literary)
to set fire to something deliberately 将…付之一炬