How to Use touch off in a Sentence

touch off

verb
  • The boat, left there on shore, had touched off a prompt alarm.
    — Elwyn "bud" Myers, Outdoor Life, 11 Mar. 2026
  • Your case touched off a global movement.
    — Maer Roshan, HollywoodReporter, 10 Mar. 2026
  • The cigar then touched off cotton goods stored in the warehouse.
    — Jacques Kelly, Baltimore Sun, 7 Feb. 2026
  • An exogenous shock like a war would raise demand and touch off a boom.
    — Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 15 June 2025
  • Trump's tariffs touched off a stock market plunge in recent days.
    — Max Zahn, ABC News, 10 Mar. 2025
  • Williams said, touching off laughter.
    — Tom Murphy, Arkansas Online, 12 Sep. 2025
  • Has plenty of skill with terrific passing touch off both sides of the blade.
    — Kyle Woodlief, USA TODAY, 7 July 2022
  • The shooting touched off three days of violent and fatal protests in the city.
    — Jessica Van Egeren, Journal Sentinel, 3 July 2024
  • The dispute touched off after the groups left the basketball game.
    — Robert A. Cronkleton, Kansas City Star, 20 Mar. 2025
  • The move touched off one of the most bizarre and byzantine scandals ever to hit the sports card industry.
    — Daniel Miller, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2024
  • The news touched off months of mass protests by millions against the AfD countrywide.
    — Christopher F. Schuetze, New York Times, 1 June 2024
  • The hit out of bounds touched off a scuffle between the two teams near the Pell City sideline.
    — Joseph Goodman | [email protected], al, 26 Aug. 2023
  • Brown’s decision to run for statewide office will touch off an open race to fill his congressional seat.
    — Bryn Stole, baltimoresun.com, 25 Oct. 2021
  • On the witness stand last month, Momeni said Lee had attacked him in a fit of anger touched off by a joke.
    — Max Zahn, ABC News, 17 Dec. 2024
  • The chokehold death of Neely touched off a series of protests and vigils in the days following the episode.
    — Graham Rayman, New York Daily News, 8 Aug. 2024
  • Graves’ shot touched off a celebration on the Santa Clara bench.
    — Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 20 Mar. 2026
  • Those air attacks touched off lethal volleys between Iran and Israel.
    — Robert Polner, New York Daily News, 23 June 2025
  • The hats have touched off a widespread case of 313 fever as fans clamor on Facebook for more merch.
    — Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 12 June 2024
  • That set up Queen’s heroics that touched off a raucous celebration.
    — Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 24 Mar. 2025
  • The plea deals and Johnson’s comments have touched off debates over Missouri’s gun laws.
    — Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 11 May 2026
  • This has touched off a whole new round of legal motions to throw out drug convictions based on tainted evidence.
    — Globe Columnist, BostonGlobe.com, 23 Feb. 2023
  • Video showed a shirtless white man shove Pickett in the chest before taking a swing at his face, touching off the brawl.
    — Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 10 Nov. 2023
  • Burnham’s death in 1985 touched off a series of events that began to change the country.
    — Gaiutra Bahadur Keisha Scarville, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2024
  • Good’s killing touched off protests across the nation, with the White House going on the offensive.
    — Julia Ainsley, NBC news, 9 Jan. 2026
  • The hit touched off a fight, and ended with Minnesota on a power play, which would produce their first goal of the night.
    — Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 15 Oct. 2025
  • That touched off a debate over whether Crowley was scapegoated or canned for poor leadership.
    — Dan Walters, Orange County Register, 1 Mar. 2025
  • Among them was the brother of Sylville Smith, whose death at the hands of police touched off three days of rioting.
    — La Risa R. Lynch, jsonline.com, 19 Feb. 2026
  • Stewart knocked Corrales on all fours with a thundering right hand, touching off a fight between the teams.
    — Paul Hoynes, cleveland, 28 Aug. 2023
  • What’s more, concerns about inflation touched off by higher energy prices have pushed bond yields higher.
    — Christopher Cann, USA Today, 25 Mar. 2026
  • And Queen was forced to take an off-balance shot that required a perfect touch off the glass to redirect into the hoop.
    — Scott Thompson, Fox News, 24 Mar. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'touch off.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: