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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After your baby is born progesterone (which inhibits breastmilk production) drops and prolactin, which controls milk volume, and oxytocin, which triggers the let-down reflex increases, explains Nadine Rosenblum, the perinatal lactation program coordinator at The Johns Hopkins Hospital.—
Hannah Silverman,
Parents,
16 Feb. 2026
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The director frames the film as an immersion into the mind of one such figure — shaped by social discontent, inequality and state repression — who triggers revolt to avenge the death of his dog.—
Emiliano De Pablos,
Variety,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Curiosity widens as the sparkling Sun activates your 9th House of Travel and Exploration, inviting you to stretch your beliefs and seek perspective beyond familiar comfort zones.—
Tarot.com,
Baltimore Sun,
18 Feb. 2026
-
The ad, which centers on a fictional family scouring their community for their missing dog, demonstrates how the Search Party feature activates neighboring Ring home cameras to be used in the search.—
Mason Leib,
ABC News,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The final product not only brings them pride, but also sparks hope for a brighter future.—
Libby Smith,
CBS News,
18 Feb. 2026
-
Rose, a Detroit native and University of Michigan Wolverine, and Gores, a Flint native and Michigan State Spartan, founded the company to create content that sparks cross-cultural conversation and deeper appreciation for others at a critical time globally.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Unlike body composition metrics, BMI obscures the true extent of metabolic dysfunction and cannot distinguish between muscle and fat — or between superficial fat and the visceral fat that drives diabetes, heart disease and other chronic conditions.—
Bret Scher,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Feb. 2026
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Some of what also drives Honnold is making the world a better place.—
Graham Womack,
Sacbee.com,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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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
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This process, which powers the sun and stars, offers the potential for a virtually limitless power source.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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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
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Convinced that these images faithfully represent America, a group of villagers sets off for the New World.—
Tope Folarin,
The Atlantic,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
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An annular solar eclipse happens when the moon moves between Earth and the sun, but is too far from Earth to completely cover the sun's disk.—
Daisy Dobrijevic,
Space.com,
16 Feb. 2026
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Every year from approximately November 22 to December 21, the sun moves through the ninth sign of the zodiac, Sagittarius, symbolized by the Archer.—
Maressa Brown,
InStyle,
15 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Touches off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/touches%20off. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
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