trigger
Syllables: trig·ger/ˈtɹɪɡə/US/ˈtɹɪɡɚ/
trigger noun: a finger-operated lever used to fire a gun. Also the comparative form of trig.
Noun
trigger (plural triggers)
- A finger-operated lever used to fire a gun.
- Just pull the trigger.
- [W]e pull'd aſide the Tricker, and obſerv'd, that according to our expectation the force of the Spring of the Lock vvas not ſenſibly abated by the abſence of the Air.1659 December 30 (date written), Robert Boyle, “[Experiment 14]”, in New Experiments Physico-Mechanicall, Touching the Spring of the Air, and Its Effects […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] H[enry] Hall...
- A similar device used to activate any mechanism.
- An event that initiates others, or incites a response.
- Sleeping in an unfamiliar room can be a trigger for sleepwalking.
- A concept or image that upsets somebody by sparking a negative emotional response.
- emotional trigger
- I can't watch that violent film. Blood is one of my triggers.
- Antonyms:
- glimmer
- An event, experience or other stimulus that initiates a traumatic memory or a strong reaction in a person.
- An electronic transducer allowing a drum, cymbal, etc. to control an electronic drum unit or similar device.
- A device that manually lengthens (or sometimes shortens) the slide or tubing of a brass instrument, allowing the pitch range to be altered while playing.
- A pulse in an electronic circuit that initiates some component.
- An SQL procedure that may be initiated when a record is inserted, updated or deleted; typically used to maintain referential integrity.
- A catch to hold the wheel of a carriage on a declivity.
- An argument whose semantic role determines the choice of a verbal affix, in certain Austronesian languages.
Verb
trigger (third-person singular simple present triggers, present participle triggering, simple past and past participle triggered)
- To fire (a weapon); to set off or trip (a mechanism or function of a device).
- A U235 bomb would therefore need to incorporate a gun weighing ten tons. Then there was the question of initiating or triggering the bomb.2011, Jim Baggott, The First War of Physics, Pegasus Books, →ISBN
- To cause, to precipitate, to bring (something) about in response or as a result.
- The controversial article triggered a deluge of angry letters from readers.
- The accident followed torrential early morning rain that triggered widespread flooding across Scotland's tracks, including south of Carmont.2020 August 26, Philip Haigh, “Network News: Three die in ScotRail landslip derailment at Carmont”, in Rail, page 6
- Synonyms:
- precipitate, set off, cause, activate, initiate
- To spark a response, especially a negative emotional response, in (a person).
- This story contains a rape scene and may be triggering for rape victims.
- People get triggered simply by seeing a Trump.2019, Donald Trump Jr., Triggered, Center Street, →ISBN
- Synonyms:
- push someone's buttons
- To activate; to become active.
- Sodium nitrite (750 ppm) was added after the alarm triggered at three hours, and corrosion did not occur for over eight hours.1997, Mill Operators' Conference, page 182
Also used as
trigger is also the comparative form of trig.
trigger meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
trigger in Hindi
- ट्रिगर करें, ट्रिगर, ट्रिगर करना
trigger in Tamil
- to spark a response, especially a negative emotional response, in (someone)
- உசுப்பேற்று ucuppēṟṟu, தூண்டு tūṇṭu, தூண்டிவிடு tūṇṭiviṭu
trigger in Marathi
- ट्रिगर, ट्रिगर करा, ट्रिगर करणे
trigger in Urdu
- ٹرگر
More languagesFewer languages
- trigger in Bengali
- ট্রিগার, ট্রিগার করুন, ট্রিগার করা
- trigger in Telugu
- ట్రిగ్గర్, ట్రిగ్గర్ చేయండి
- trigger in Malayalam
- ട്രിഗർ, ട്രിഗർ ചെയ്യുക, ട്രിഗർ ചെയ്യാൻ
- trigger in Kannada
- ಪ್ರಚೋದಕ
- trigger in Punjabi
- ਟਰਿੱਗਰ, ਟਰਿੱਗਰ ਕਰੋ, ਟਰੀਗਰ
- trigger in Gujarati
- ટ્રિગર કરો, ટ્રિગર, ટ્રિગર કરવા માટે
- trigger in Odia
- ଟ୍ରିଗର କରନ୍ତୁ, ଟ୍ରିଗର, ଟ୍ରିଗର୍
- trigger in Assamese
- খিলিকি khiliki, ফৰিঙা phoriṅa, কজক kozok, লপলপী loplopi
- trigger in Nepali
- ट्रिगर, ट्रिगर गर्नुहोस्, ट्रिगर गर्ने
- trigger in Tagalog
- gatilyo, kulbitan, kaltisan
- trigger in Arabic
- زِنَاد zinād
- trigger in Malay
- picu
- trigger in Indonesian
- pemicu, pelatuk
- trigger in Persian
- ماشه mâše
- trigger in Thai
- ไก gai, ไกปืน gai-bpʉʉn
- trigger in Vietnamese
- cò
- trigger in Myanmar
- လက်လှုပ် lakhlup
Examples of trigger in a sentence
- A 35-year-old woman’s flutter was triggered by increasing the depth of breathing and by (electrical) stimulation of the diaphragm.2017, Michael Chiou, BA; María Victoria Herrero; John R. Bach, MD; Jeffrey L. Cole, MD; and Enrique Luis Gonzales, AAS, CRT, RRT...
- I encountered a forum user who didn't agree with me, so I wrote some comments with my political slogans to trigger that clueless kiddo.2020 January 25, Ernesto Londoño, Letícia Casado, “Glenn Greenwald in Bolsonaro’s Brazil”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the...
Synonyms of trigger
Antonyms
Forms of trigger
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | triggers |
| alternative form | tricker |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | triggers |
| present participle | triggering |
| past participle | triggered |
| past | triggered |
Origin of trigger
Originally tricker, from Dutch trekker (“pull”, noun, as in drawer-pull, bell-pull), from Dutch trekken (“to drag, draw, pull”).
Words formed from trigger
- chemoreceptor trigger zone
- grim trigger
- hair trigger
- hair-trigger
- have one's finger on the trigger
- itchy trigger finger
- parent trigger
- pretrigger
- pull the trigger
- Schmitt trigger
- triggered
- trigger finger
- triggerfish
- trigger flower
- trigger guard
- trigger-happy
- triggerish
- trigger law
- triggerless
- triggerlike
- triggerman
- triggernometry
- triggerplant
- trigger point
- trigger pricing
- trigger warning
- triggerwoman
- trigger word
- triggery
- mistrigger
- phototrigger
- untrigger
- retrigger
- self-trigger
- triggerable
- triggerer
Phrases with trigger
Words that rhyme with trigger
Questions about trigger
- What does trigger mean?
- Trigger means a finger-operated lever used to fire a gun.
- What is trigger in Hindi?
- Trigger in Hindi is ट्रिगर करें, ट्रिगर, ट्रिगर करना. See Trigger meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use trigger in a sentence?
- A 35-year-old woman’s flutter was triggered by increasing the depth of breathing and by (electrical) stimulation of the diaphragm.
- What part of speech is trigger?
- Trigger can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce trigger?
- Trigger is pronounced /ˈtɹɪɡə/ (UK).
- What is the plural of trigger?
- The plural of trigger is triggers.
Words near trigger in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: trigger (page history and authors); trigger (Hindi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); trigger (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); trigger (Urdu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); trigger (Bengali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); trigger (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); trigger (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); trigger (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); trigger (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); trigger (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); trigger (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); trigger (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-trigger.wav.
Cite this entry: “trigger.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/trigger. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.