as in to trigger
to cause to function
his obscene comment touched off a heated debate about the need for censorship on live broadcasts
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Recent Examples of touch off
Newsom’s declaration touched off a spending spree that boosted outlays by $14 billion.
—
Dan Walters, Oc Register, 12 Jan. 2026
The strike had been touched off by employees of PDVSA, the Venezuelan national oil company, who objected to Chavez summarily firing experienced, technocratic PDVSA executives and replacing them with political cronies.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 11 Jan. 2026
Simons forced two of those after receiving a tribute video and an ovation from the Moda Center crowd, then drilling a 3-pointer on his first touch off the bench.
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 29 Dec. 2025
That touched off an argument, during which Sweeney flashed a gun in his hip, according to the complaint.
—Chris Ramirez, jsonline.com, 12 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for touch off
Dan Walters, Oc Register, 12 Jan. 2026
The strike had been touched off by employees of PDVSA, the Venezuelan national oil company, who objected to Chavez summarily firing experienced, technocratic PDVSA executives and replacing them with political cronies.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 11 Jan. 2026
Simons forced two of those after receiving a tribute video and an ovation from the Moda Center crowd, then drilling a 3-pointer on his first touch off the bench.
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 29 Dec. 2025
That touched off an argument, during which Sweeney flashed a gun in his hip, according to the complaint.
—Chris Ramirez, jsonline.com, 12 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for touch off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for touch off
Verb
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The landslide was triggered by heavy rains, but ex-miners blame unsafe conditions.—
Justin Kabumba,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Jan. 2026
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If the infection is not contained by the body’s immune response, the bacteria destroys lung tissue which can trigger chest pain and coughing up of mucus or blood.—
Chase Hunter,
Mercury News,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams.—
Harriette Cole,
Mercury News,
27 Jan. 2026
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Neuroscience has long shown that watching another person experience pain activates the same neural regions as experiencing pain ourselves.—
Dev Patnaik,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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That last-minute development is reviving debate about the extent of state support for Vanke, one of the last major developers to have avoided an outright default after a broader property market slump sparked record debt failures in recent years.—
Bloomberg News,
Bloomberg,
28 Jan. 2026
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Not long after, Liv Morgan questioned Balor’s approach with Punk, which helped spark the chaos that closed the show.—
Rob Wolkenbrod,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Violent confrontations targeting Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minnesota are being driven by outside actors exploiting chaos, not organic protest, according to a protest insider warning that the situation is rapidly spiraling.—
Stepheny Price,
FOXNews.com,
27 Jan. 2026
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The driver then drove into the city of Wheat Ridge and allegedly crashed into a Honda Pilot near Pierce Street and West 32nd Avenue several minutes later before continuing on.—
Austen Erblat,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The auction gives some breathing space to the market after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s pitch to remove the sales tax on food for two years set off a period of unprecedented volatility.—
Mia Glass,
Bloomberg,
28 Jan. 2026
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In Terminator, an all-powerful, faultless AI becomes sentient, decides that humans are the enemy, and sets off a nuclear apocalypse.—
Bipul Sinha,
Fortune,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Nations that can reliably power the infrastructure underpinning advanced technologies will hold structural advantages in the 21st century.—
Güney Yıldız,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
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Georgia Power is among several electric companies in the South building new natural gas plants to meet the unprecedented electricity demand for data centers, warehouses packed with servers that power artificial intelligence and our digital lives.—
Kristi Swartz,
AJC.com,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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By rolling MXene flakes into tubes, the team created hollow structures that allow ions to move more freely.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
30 Jan. 2026
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Karlee Smith jumped on a quad bike to help herd sheep away from the fast-moving flames on a farm in the town of Gellibrand, a small rural town, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) southwest of Melbourne.—
Helen Regan,
CNN Money,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Touch off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/touch%20off. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.
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