torchbearer

noun

torch·​bear·​er ˈtȯrch-ˌber-ər 

1

: one that carries a torch

2

: someone in the forefront of a campaign, crusade, or movement

Examples of torchbearer in a Sentence

He became the torchbearer for civil rights.

Recent Examples on the Web

But the record still teems with the pair’s sterling indie folk balladry, invoking the likes of torchbearers like Everly Brothers and Roy Orbison. —Aaron Davis, Sacramento Bee, 1 Mar. 2025

Eventually, the Divide would reconcile in 2011 and re-assert themselves as torchbearers for Red Dirt. —Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 3 Sep. 2024

After sporting an Olympics tracksuit as a torchbearer ahead of the July 26 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, the rapper, 52, continued to turn heads with his custom T-shirts during the global sporting event. —Brian Anthony Hernandez, Peoplemag, 30 July 2024

Last year, about 120 people applied to be one of six torchbearers for Israel’s annual Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day; this year, Yad Vashem received only 75 applicants—a reflection of the dwindling number of survivors. —Larry Luxner, Sun Sentinel, 30 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for torchbearer

• cupbearer
• declarer
• preparer
• repairer
• seafarer
• wayfarer
• bearer
• carer
• error
• fairer
• ferrer
• rarer