To come in contact with; to hit or strike lightly against; to extend the hand, foot, or the like, so as to reach or rest on.
To perceive by the sense of feeling.
To come to; to reach; to attain to.
To try; to prove, as with a touchstone.
To relate to; to concern; to affect.
To handle, speak of, or deal with; to treat of.
To meddle or interfere with; as, I have not touched the books.
To affect the senses or the sensibility of; to move; to melt; to soften; especially, to cause feelings of pity, compassion, sympathy, or gratitude in.
To mark or delineate with touches; to add a slight stroke to with the pencil or brush.
To infect; to affect slightly.
To make an impression on; to have effect upon.
To strike; to manipulate; to play on; as, to touch an instrument of music.
To perform, as a tune; to play.
To influence by impulse; to impel forcibly.
To harm, afflict, or distress.
To affect with insanity, especially in a slight degree; to make partially insane; - rarely used except in the past participle.
To be tangent to. See Tangent, a.
To lay a hand upon for curing disease.
To compare with; to be equal to; - usually with a negative; as, he held that for good cheer nothing could touch an open fire.
To induce to give or lend; to borrow from; as, to touch one for a loan; hence, to steal from.
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.
To treat anything in discourse, especially in a slight or casual manner; - often with on or upon.
To be brought, as a sail, so close to the wind that its weather leech shakes.
The act of touching, or the state of being touched; contact.
The sense by which pressure or traction exerted on the skin is recognized; the sense by which the properties of bodies are determined by contact; the tactile sense. See Tactile sense, under Tactile.
Act or power of exciting emotion.
An emotion or affection.
Personal reference or application.
A stroke; as, a touch of raillery; a satiric touch; hence, animadversion; censure; reproof.
A single stroke on a drawing or a picture.
Feature; lineament; trait.
The act of the hand on a musical instrument; bence, in the plural, musical notes.
A small quantity intermixed; a little; a dash.
A hint; a suggestion; slight notice.
A slight and brief essay.
A touchstone; hence, stone of the sort used for touchstone.
Hence, examination or trial by some decisive standard; test; proof; tried quality.
The particular or characteristic mode of action, or the resistance of the keys of an instrument to the fingers; as, a heavy touch, or a light touch; also, the manner of touching, striking, or pressing the keys of a piano; as, a legato touch; a staccato touch.
The broadest part of a plank worked top and but (see Top and but, under Top, n.), or of one worked anchor-stock fashion (that is, tapered from the middle to both ends); also, the angles of the stern timbers at the counters.
That part of the field which is beyond the line of flags on either side.
A boys' game; tag.
A set of changes less than the total possible on seven bells, that is, less than 5,040.
An act of borrowing or stealing.
Tallow; - a plumber's term.
Of little, or less than the usual, height; of low growth; as, base shrubs.
Low in place or position.
Of humble birth; or low degree; lowly; mean.
Illegitimate by birth; bastard.
Of little comparative value, as metal inferior to gold and silver, the precious metals.
Alloyed with inferior metal; debased; as, base coin; base bullion.
Morally low. Hence: Low-minded; unworthy; without dignity of sentiment; ignoble; mean; illiberal; menial; as, a base fellow; base motives; base occupations.
Not classical or correct.
Deep or grave in sound; as, the base tone of a violin.
Not held by honorable service; as, a base estate, one held by services not honorable; held by villenage. Such a tenure is called base, or low, and the tenant, a base tenant.
The bottom of anything, considered as its support, or that on which something rests for support; the foundation; as, the base of a statue.
Fig.: The fundamental or essential part of a thing; the essential principle; a groundwork.
The lower part of a wall, pier, or column, when treated as a separate feature, usually in projection, or especially ornamented.
That extremity of a leaf, fruit, etc., at which it is attached to its support.
The positive, or non-acid component of a salt; a substance which, combined with an acid, neutralizes the latter and forms a salt; - applied also to the hydroxides of the positive elements or radicals, and to certain organic bodies resembling them in their property of forming salts with acids.
The chief ingredient in a compound.
A substance used as a mordant.
The exterior side of the polygon, or that imaginary line which connects the salient angles of two adjacent bastions.
The line or surface constituting that part of a figure on which it is supposed to stand.
The number from which a mathematical table is constructed; as, the base of a system of logarithms.
A low, or deep, sound. (Mus.) (a) The lowest part; the deepest male voice. (b) One who sings, or the instrument which plays, base.
A place or tract of country, protected by fortifications, or by natural advantages, from which the operations of an army proceed, forward movements are made, supplies are furnished, etc.
The smallest kind of cannon.
That part of an organ by which it is attached to another more central organ.
The basal plane of a crystal.
The ground mass of a rock, especially if not distinctly crystalline.
The lower part of the field. See Escutcheon.
The housing of a horse.
A kind of skirt (often of velvet or brocade, but sometimes of mailed armor) which hung from the middle to about the knees, or lower.
The lower part of a robe or petticoat.
An apron.
The point or line from which a start is made; a starting place or a goal in various games.
A line in a survey which, being accurately determined in length and position, serves as the origin from which to compute the distances and positions of any points or objects connected with it by a system of triangles.
A rustic play; - called also prisoner's base, prison base, or bars.
Any one of the four bounds which mark the circuit of the infield.
To put on a base or basis; to lay the foundation of; to found, as an argument or conclusion; - used with on or upon.
To abase; to let, or cast, down; to lower.
To reduce the value of; to debase.