torch

«torch» in Mova's school dictionary: In the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, a torch is… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (a torch, torches); verb (torch, torches, torched, torching — to set on fire)

meaning for a pupil

1) In the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, a torch is a small electric light you hold in your hand and that works with batteries; in the USA and Canada this is a flashlight. tree →

2) A torch is also a stick with a flame at the top, like the Olympic torch. tree →

3) To torch something means to set it on fire on purpose. tree →

sense in the lessons

In everyday life and safety lessons a torch is part of an emergency kit for power cuts, and useful when camping or walking in the dark; check the batteries. In science a torch shows that light travels in straight lines and makes shadows. In history and stories flaming torches lit castles and caves. Phrases: shine a torch, torchlight, the Olympic torch, carry the torch.

examples

• Take a torch with you when we go camping. tree →
• Shine the torch under the bed to find my sock. tree →
• The power went off, so we used a torch. tree →
• In America, a torch is called a flashlight. tree →
• The runner carried the Olympic torch. tree →
• We made shadow puppets with a torch on the wall. tree →
• Check the torch batteries before the trip. tree →
• Explorers used burning torches to see in the cave. tree →
• Hecate appears as a gigantic woman, bearing a torch and a sword. tree →

note

Plural: torches (add -es). Pupils in the USA and Canada say «flashlight» for the battery light; «torch» there usually means a flaming stick. Never shine a torch straight into someone's eyes.

In the corpora

• Monsters are not real, and looking with a torch and a parent shows there is nothing there.
• A good hike is planned: water, snacks, a map, a torch and a plan to be back before dark.
• Carry a torch and plan to be back before dark, because paths are hard to follow in the dark.
• A doctor looks inside the ear with an otoscope, a small torch with a magnifying lens.
• The battery in a torch is gentle: you can hold it all day.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «torch» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.