as in to trigger
to cause to function
his obscene comment touched off a heated debate about the need for censorship on live broadcasts
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of touch off
The person wearing the camera approaches Kerley and places their hand on Kerley's chest and then his wrist, touching off the scuffle.
—
David K. Li, NBC News, 4 Jan. 2025
Some advocates say the crisis was touched off when Purdue Pharma's OxyContin hit the market in 1996.
—CBS News, 13 Dec. 2024
Zoom in: The win touched off celebrations throughout the city.
—Isaac Avilucea, Axios, 27 Jan. 2025
Against Memphis in the Maui Invitational championship game, watch how Auburn gets Broome an easy paint touch off a flex cut:
One way Burgomaster has enhanced Auburn’s offense is by tweaking the Tigers’ entries into their flex actions.
—Brendan Marks, The Athletic, 7 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for touch off
David K. Li, NBC News, 4 Jan. 2025
Some advocates say the crisis was touched off when Purdue Pharma's OxyContin hit the market in 1996.
—CBS News, 13 Dec. 2024
Zoom in: The win touched off celebrations throughout the city.
—Isaac Avilucea, Axios, 27 Jan. 2025
Against Memphis in the Maui Invitational championship game, watch how Auburn gets Broome an easy paint touch off a flex cut:
One way Burgomaster has enhanced Auburn’s offense is by tweaking the Tigers’ entries into their flex actions.
—Brendan Marks, The Athletic, 7 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for touch off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for touch off
Verb
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The Miami-Dade Police officer who pulled over Miami Dolphins’ superstar Tyreek Hill — triggering a chaotic series of events that led to him and a fellow player in handcuffs — has a history of using force during his five years with the department.—
Devoun Cetoute,
Miami Herald,
7 Mar. 2025
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The campaign was triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 23, 2023 attack on southern Israel, in which fighters killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took a total of 251 people hostage.—
Julia Frankel,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The Leo full moon activates themes of intimacy and transformation, encouraging you to dive deeper into your emotional connections.—
Meghan Rose,
Glamour,
1 Mar. 2025
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The following year, on Oct. 21, the fledgling military branch activated Space Operations Command at Peterson Air Force Base (now Peterson Space Force Base) in Colorado.—
Julian Dossett,
Space.com,
28 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Moore’s exit will spark widespread speculation over who will replace her at the BBC.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
27 Feb. 2025
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Pioneering The Future Of Retail The rise of AI in retail has sparked concerns about job displacement.—
Gurhan Kok,
Forbes,
27 Feb. 2025
Verb
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So, does your workplace use curiosity to drive meaningful results?—
Dr. Diane Hamilton,
Forbes,
3 Mar. 2025
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Harbour remains bullish on the stock longer term, however, anticipating that Chipotle’s consistent unit sales, strong balance sheet and use of automation to cut costs and drive margins could be some key growth drivers for the company.—
Pia Singh,
CNBC,
3 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Images of his feet quickly began circulating online, setting off a craze on the internet.—
Jessica Botelho,
Baltimore Sun,
26 Feb. 2025
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Many of them had walked up to 200 km to get there, setting off days earlier and only arriving Friday evening.—
Dominique Soguel,
The Christian Science Monitor,
26 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Algorithmic recommendation engines that power everything from X to YouTube can even contribute to a slow-burn destabilization of American society by shoving consumers into partisan echo chambers that increase polarization and erode social trust.—
Seth Ashley,
The Conversation,
7 Mar. 2025
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The previous test flight, which similarly failed as the rocket was powering into space, most likely failed because of a leak in an engine causing a pressure buildup, the company said last month.—
Alex Knapp,
Forbes,
7 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Listen to this article After moving from Texas and transferring to Joliet Catholic, Maddux and Vince Tindal have had to adjust to a new level of competition.—
Steve Millar,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Feb. 2025
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On one of those days, Sue began asking Ken to move her to a care home.—
Jon Hamilton,
NPR,
26 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Touch off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/touch%20off. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
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