Word info

touch wood

Speech parts

1. touch wood - Verb

2. touch wood - Interjection

Meaning

touch wood (third-person singular simple present touches wood, present participle touching wood, simple past and past participle touched wood)

(UK, Australia, South Africa, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, India) To make contact with wood to avert bad luck, in accordance with a folk practice.

Synonym: (US) knock on wood

touch wood

(idiomatic, UK, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, India) Hopefully; said while touching something wooden, to avert superstitious bad luck from what has just been said.
And the reds are going to avoid relegation this year, touch wood.

Synonym: (US) knock on wood

Source: en.wiktionary.org

Examples

I've had tinnitus for about ten years, and since I started protecting my ears it hasn't got any worse - touch wood. Chris Martin

Beating cancer is personal battle. It was one of the toughest opponents I have faced so far, and I think I did reasonably well. Touch wood. Yuvraj Singh

Close letter words and terms