TOUCH ON • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Touch on

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/tətʃ ɑn/ Listen

verb

touch on v. t. To mention briefly, or in passing.

Touch v. i.

To be in contact; to be in a state of junction, so that no space is between; as, two spheres touch only at points.

To fasten; to take effect; to make impression. (R.) "Strong waters pierce metals, and will touch upon gold, that will not touch upon silver."

To treat anything in discourse, especially in a slight or casual manner; often with on or upon. "If the antiquaries have touched upon it, they immediately quitted it."

(Naut) To be brought, as a sail, so close to the wind that its weather leech shakes.

To touch and go (Naut.), to touch bottom lightly and without damage, as a vessel in motion.

To touch at, to come or go to, without tarrying; as, the ship touched at Lisbon.

To touch on or To touch upon,

(a)

to come or go to for a short time. (R.) "I made a little voyage round the lake, and touched on the several towns that lie on its coasts."

(b)

to discuss briefly, as only a small part of a discourse.

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Etymology of 'Touch on'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Touch on" Quotes from Famous Books

... statement as to authorship was made on the authority of Robert Chambers.), a Free Kirk minister, and dabbler in Natural History. I should be very glad to see any good American reviews, as they are all more or less useful. You say that you shall touch on other reviews. Huxley told me some time ago that after a time he would write a review on all the reviews, whether he will I know not. If you allude to the 'Edinburgh,' pray notice SOME of the points which I will point out on a separate slip. ...

— The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin, Volume II • Francis Darwin

... been before. She had, of course, flirted with him in a very innocent way, if her methods had been a little cruder than Blanche's would have under the same circumstances. The repartee had been simple and the caresses nothing more than a slight touch on waist or arm, repulsed by her with more alarm than prudery. Phoebe was fonder far of Ishmael than of Archelaus; she told herself that she admired Ishmael more—he was so much the gentleman.... What she did not know was that a rebel ...

— Secret Bread • F. Tennyson Jesse

... on the bosom as it ceased to breathe. A kindly touch on his shoulder brought him to a knowledge ...

— The Ghost Breaker - A Novel Based Upon the Play • Charles Goddard

... mountain-side; and on the very spot (I must observe that I am here quoting its owner) where was the camp in which Marius lay with his legions until the time was ripe for him to strike the blow that secured Southern Gaul to Rome. This matter of Marius is a ticklish subject to touch on with the Vidame: since the fact must be admitted that other antiquaries are not less firm in their convictions, nor less hot in presenting them, that the camp of the Roman general was variously elsewhere—and all of them, I regret to add, display ...

— The Christmas Kalends of Provence - And Some Other Provencal Festivals • Thomas A. Janvier

... interview with Mrs. Brown-Smith herself? I assure you that you can trust her, and I happen to know that her view of the man about whom we are talking is exactly your own. More I could say as to her reasons and motives, but we entirely decline to touch on the past or to offer any opinion about the characters of our patients—the persons about whose engagements we are consulted. He might have murdered his grandmother or robbed a church, but my ...

— The Disentanglers • Andrew Lang

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