touch off

English

Pronunciation

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Verb

touch off (third-person singular simple present touches off, present participle touching off, simple past and past participle touched off)

1. (idiomatic) To start; to cause, especially used for unstable situations that may magnify if disturbed.

   Be cautious talking about religion or politics, lest you touch off an argument.

Translations

to cause, especially used for unstable situations that may magnify if disturbed

• French: déclencher (fr)
• German: auslösen (de)
• Portuguese: desencadear (pt)
• Spanish: desencadenar (es)