trigger

Forms

1.A finger-operated lever used to fire a gun.
2.A similar device used to activate any mechanism.
3.An event that initiates others, or incites a response.
- Sleeping in an unfamiliar room can be a trigger for sleepwalking.
4.A concept or image that upsets somebody by sparking a negative emotional response.
- I can't watch that violent film. Blood is one of my triggers.

1.To fire (a weapon).
- 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.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.
- A 35-year-old woman’s flutter was triggered by increasing the depth of breathing and by (electrical) stimulation of the diaphragm.
- The accident followed torrential early morning rain that triggered widespread flooding across Scotland's tracks, including south of Carmont.
3.To spark a response, especially a negative emotional response, in (a person).
- People get triggered simply by seeing a Trump.
- This story contains a rape scene and may be triggering for rape victims.
- 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.
4.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.

Uncommon· #3711

Originally tricker

From Dutch trekker (“pull”, noun, as in drawer-pull, bell-pull)

From Dutch trekken (“to drag, draw, pull”).