touche
touche Lexical Profile
touche Game Scores & Validity
• interjection
Used as an acknowledgment during a discussion or debate that a speaker has made a clever, valid, or witty point at one's expense.
""You say I'm always late, yet you arrived ten minutes after me today." "Touche!""
Used in the sport of fencing to acknowledge a valid hit scored by an opponent.
"The fencer lowered his foil and called out, "Touche," as the judge awarded the point."
• noun
A valid hit or touch scored with the tip or edge of the blade in the sport of fencing.
"She won the championship bout by scoring a decisive touche in the final seconds of the match."
Word Nuance & Usage
In standard typography, the word is often written with an acute accent as 'touché' and is pronounced /tuːˈʃeɪ/.
• Rhymes for touche
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from the French past participle of 'toucher' ('to touch'), where it was traditionally exclaimed by a fencer to acknowledge that an opponent's blade had landed a valid hit.