■ verb
1》 come into or be in contact with.
↘come or bring into mutual contact.
↘bring one's hand or another part of one's body into contact with.
↘strike (a ball) lightly in a specified direction.
2》 harm or interfere with.
↘[usu. with negative ] consume or use (food, drink, money, etc.).
3》 have an effect on.
↘[with negative ] have any dealings with: he took jobs that nobody else would ~.
4》 produce feelings of affection, gratitude, or sympathy in.
5》 informal reach (a specified level or amount).
↘[usu. with negative ] approach in excellence.
6》 [as adjective ~ed ] informal slightly mad.
7》 ( ~ someone for ) informal ask someone for (money) as a loan or gift.
8》 ( ~ something in ) chiefly Art lightly mark in details with a brush or pencil.
■ noun
1》 an act of ~ing.
↘a musician's manner of playing keys or strings or the manner in which an instrument's keys or strings respond to being played.
↘a light stroke with a pen, pencil, etc.
2》 the faculty of perception through physical contact, especially with the fingers.
3》 a small amount.
4》 a distinctive detail or feature.
5》 a distinctive manner or method of dealing with something.
↘an ability to deal with something successfully.
6》 Rugby & Soccer the area beyond the sidelines, out of play.
7》 Bell-ringing a series of changes shorter than a peal.
8》 archaic a test of worth.
Phrases
in ~
1》 in or into communication.
2》 possessing up-to-date knowledge.
lose ~
1》 cease to be in communication.
2》 cease to be informed.
out of ~ lacking up-to-date knowledge or awareness.
to the ~ when ~ed.
~ bottom be at the lowest or worst point.
~ of the sun a slight attack of sunstroke.
Phrasal verbs
~ at (of a ship) call briefly at (a port).
~ down
1》 Rugby ~ the ground with the ball behind the opponents' goal line, scoring a try.
2》 American Football score six points by being in possession of the ball behind the opponents' goal line.
3》 (of an aircraft or spacecraft) land.
~ something off
1》 cause something to ignite or explode by ~ing it with a match.
↘cause something to happen suddenly.
2》 (of a racehorse) defeat another horse in a race by a short margin.
~ on (or upon )
1》 deal briefly with (a subject).
2》 come near to being.
~ someone up Brit. informal caress someone without their consent for sexual pleasure.
~ something up make small improvements to something.
Derivatives
~able adjective
Origin
ME: the verb from OFr. tochier , prob. from a Romance word of imitative origin; the noun orig. from OFr. ~e , later (in certain senses) directly from the verb.