Trigger
adj, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A finger-operated lever used to fire a gun.
"Just pull the trigger."
- 2 an act that sets in motion some course of events wordnet
- 3 A similar device used to activate any mechanism.
- 4 lever that activates the firing mechanism of a gun wordnet
- 5 An event that initiates others, or incites a response.
"Sleeping in an unfamiliar room can be a trigger for sleepwalking."
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- 6 a device that activates or releases or causes something to happen wordnet
- 7 A concept or image that upsets somebody by sparking a negative emotional response.
"emotional trigger"
- 8 An event, experience or other stimulus that initiates a traumatic memory or a strong reaction in a person.
- 9 An electronic transducer allowing a drum, cymbal, etc. to control an electronic drum unit or similar device.
- 10 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.
- 11 A pulse in an electronic circuit that initiates some component.
- 12 An SQL procedure that may be initiated when a record is inserted, updated or deleted; typically used to maintain referential integrity.
- 13 A catch to hold the wheel of a carriage on a declivity. archaic
- 14 An argument whose semantic role determines the choice of a verbal affix, in certain Austronesian languages.
- 1 To fire (a weapon). transitive
"A U235 bomb would therefore need to incorporate a gun weighing ten tons. Then there was the question of initiating or triggering the bomb."
- 2 release or pull the trigger on wordnet
- 3 To cause, to precipitate, to bring (something) about in response or as a result. transitive
"The controversial article triggered a deluge of angry letters from readers."
- 4 put in motion or move to act wordnet
- 5 To spark a response, especially a negative emotional response, in (a person). figuratively, transitive
"This story contains a rape scene and may be triggering for rape victims."
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- 6 To activate; to become active. especially, intransitive
"Sodium nitrite (750 ppm) was added after the alarm triggered at three hours, and corrosion did not occur for over eight hours."
- 1 comparative form of trig: more trig comparative, form-of
Example
More examples"The man put the gun against his forehead and squeezed the trigger."
Etymology
Originally tricker, from Dutch trekker (“pull”, noun, as in drawer-pull, bell-pull), from Dutch trekken (“to drag, draw, pull”).
Related phrases
More for "trigger"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.