as in triggers
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 touches off
The Bengals then lined up for a desperation onside kick and, thanks to the slightest of touches off a Bears player’s foot, managed to recover the ball to get possession back.
—
Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 3 Nov. 2025
Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 3 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for touches off
Verb
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But when the grind triggers that frame of reference, Hall explained, the models have a rich vein of source material to draw from.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
7 Mar. 2026
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But what's rising especially fast is the more damaging type when the heat comes first and that triggers the drought.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Within ComPair’s ‘HealTech’ material, a healing agent activates at higher temperatures.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
4 Mar. 2026
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The designation, announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, activates authorities created under an executive order signed in September that expanded the government's ability to penalize countries accused of detaining Americans for political bargaining power.—
Camilla Schick,
CBS News,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Her writing invariably sparks discourse, sometimes misogynistic, often written off as jealousy over her success.—
Malavika Kannan,
Vulture,
3 Mar. 2026
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The United States and Israel conducted military strikes in Iran over the weekend, and while there are mixed feelings about what took place, some Iranians living in South Florida are hopeful this sparks a positive change for the country.—
Morgan Rynor
March 2,
CBS News,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The solid dramatic framework that Gyllenhaal establishes drives events onward with relentless force, and her film is devilishly clever in its fusion of gothic horror and film-noir tropes.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
4 Mar. 2026
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Most of the time, the engine drives a generator while the battery absorbs and delivers power.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Researchers are adapting the magnetron—the same component that powers microwave ovens—to provide the 10 megawatts of power required for ADS.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
19 Feb. 2026
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How Wisconsin's solar battery park powers 130,000 homes The Paris Solar farm began producing power in December 2024 and generates 200 megawatts of renewable electricity during the day.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
23 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Attractive green foliage sets off other plants in summer, and in fall, the plant displays a lovely yellow-gold color.—
Lynn McAlpine,
Better Homes & Gardens,
5 Mar. 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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As the train moves through the Hudson Valley and up toward the Canadian border, riverfront towns give way to wide expanses of water and distant mountain peaks.—
Lauren Dana Ellman,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Mar. 2026
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The bodywork also moves now — the wings literally adjust as the car moves around the track, which sounds made up but isn’t.—
Alex Kirshner,
New York Times,
8 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Touches off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/touches%20off. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.
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